



.C1F8 



Historic Houses 

AND SPOTS 

IN 

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 

AND 

NEAR-BY TOWNS 



J. W. FREESE 

PRINCIPAL OF THE WASHINGTON SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE 



" God sifted a whole nation that He might send choice grain over into this wilderness ' 



Boston, U.S.A., and London 
GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS^, 

.897 




TWO COPIES RECEIVED 

l^ '^ tr- GT n fSi ifk^^ 



Historic Houses 

AND SPOTS 

IN 

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 

AND 

NEAR-BY TOWNS 



J. W. FREESE 

PRINCIPAL OF THE WASHINGTON SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE 



God sifted a whole nation that He might send choice grain over into this wilderness 



Boston, U.S.A., and London 
GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 

1897 




NOV 16 1897 




TWO COPIES RECEIVED 



Copyright, 1897 
By JOHN W. FREESE 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



PREFACE. 



For more than twelve years I have been searching out 
and studying the most ancient homes of Cambridge and 
other historic towns and cities near by, for the benefit of the 
pupils under my charge. As we made our annual rounds, 
the disappearance of old "landmarks" became, year by 
year, more noticeable, and thus it occurred to me that a 
favor might be conferred upon many by giving in this 
modest little work definite location and brief account of the 
most famous old houses. To the schoolchildren of Cam- 
bridge and other places this work may be specially useful, 
supplemented as it is by original and picturesque views, 
and also by brief references to famous persons with whose 
names some of the houses are associated. 

It has been my conviction for years that the study of 
local history is the best introduction to the study of more 
general history, and in this view I have been confirmed by 
the ever-increasing historical pilgrimages, and above all by 
the testimony of great men who have made the study of 
history their profession. Prof. H. B. Adams, of Johns 
Hopkins University, says : 

" History, like charity, begins at home. . . . The best 
students of universal history are those who know some one 
country or some one subject well. The family, the hamlet, 
the neighborhood, the community, the parish, the village, 
town, city, county, and State are historically the ways by 
which men have approached national and international 
life." 



IV PREFACE. 

The facts I present have not been evolved from " inner 
consciousness," for, although I have had access to original 
sources, I have also gleaned freely from Drake's Land- 
marks and various local histories. My indebtedness is, 
therefore, easily seen and heartily acknowledged. 

So far as both cover the same ground. Historic Houses 
and Walker's Historical Map may be advantageously used 
together. 

John W. Freese. 

Cambridge, Mass., 1897. 



Note. — It is probably true that the writer has overlooked some 
historic house or spot that, in the mind of the local antiquarian, 
may be considered important. If so, correspondence with re- 
spect to it or to any error that may have been made is earnestly 
solicited, to the end that this book may be made as useful as pos- 
sible, in case a second edition should be called for. 

J. W. F. 



CO N TEN TS. 



PAGE 

Introduction 1^2 

Arlington 35-41 

Bedford 59-62 

Beverly 127, 128 

BiLLERiCA 63-65 

Boston 82-94 

Cambridge 3-34 

Charlestown 139,140 

Chelsea 118-121 

Concord * 52-58 

Danvers 1 29-1 31 

Dedham 106, 107 

Dorchester 95-97 

HiNGHAM 109,110 

Ipswich 134 

Jamaica Plain 104, 105 

Lancaster . . C6 

Lexington' 42-51 

Lynn ^3^> U7 

Malden 71 

Medford 67-69 

Milton ..,......• 9S-100 



Vi CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Miscellaneous Old Houses 141-144 

QuiNCY 108 

ROXBURY IOI-IO3 

Salem 122-126 

Saugus 135 

somerville 7 5~^^ 

Stoneham . , • • • • 74 

Sudbury 111-114 

swampscott 138 

TOPSFIELD 132, 133 

Watertown 1 1 5-1 17 

Winchester 70 

WOBURN 7~j73 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

- The Adams Houses io8 

^ The Austin House 3 

The Governor Bellingham Mansion 118 

"The Bishop's Palace " 15 

The Old Bowlder 44 

• The Brattle House 5 

'' The Brown House 115 

The Parson Capen House 132 

Christ Church (Cambridge) 13 

Christ Church (Boston) -93 

. The Cradock House 68 

• The Home of Emerson . . . . . . . -56 

The Everett House 96 

The Old Fairbanks House 106 

The Old First Church 124 

Faneuil Hall 88 

The Hill-Boardman House 135 

The Lee House 4 

The Abel Locke House 37 

' The Lowell House 12 

The Longfellow House , 7 - 

The Old Manse 57 



Vlll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

• Massachusetts Hall . . 21 

^ The Minute-Man 54 

V The Munroe Tavern . ■ 47 

• The Rebecca NouRSE House 129 

The Old State House 86 

^ The Old South Church 84 

The Pierce House 95 

-^ The Old Powder House 79 

The Pratt House 120 

The President's House 17 

i The Isaac Royall House 67 

" The RuGGLES House 11 

>* The Saltonstall-Whipple House 134 

^ " Sunday School " House 128 

Benjamin Thompson House 72 

The Samuel Tufts House 76 

The Vassall Monument 9 

The Vose House 98 

Ward House 123 

The Washington Elm 18 

The Waterhouse House 20 

The Wayside Inn iii 

• A Wolf Pit 136 

V The Amos Wyman House 64 



HISTORIC HOUSES AND SPOTS 



CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND NEAR-BY TOWNS. 



The citizens of Cambridge, now over 80,000 in number, 
might well lay claim to several unique distinctions for the 
city of which they are so justly proud. First, it must be 
remembered that Cambridge is the seat of the oldest and 
most distinguished university in America. 

The opportunity thus offered for broad learning and gen- 
erous culture is the probable reason for a second distinc- 
tion : viz.^ that Cambridge has lately become also the seat 
of Radcliffe College. Here are also two divinity schools 
besides the one directly connected with the University. 
The spirit of emulation fostered by these institutions of 
learning, together with the influence of several excellent 
preparatory schools, has undoubtedly had a most beneficial 
effect upon the public schools and should receive a measure 
of credit for their efficiency. The public schools of Cam- 
bridge are noted for their excellence. As Cambridge was 
contemporaneous with Boston in her settlement, and was 
also for a time the seat of government, she has left the im- 
press of her hand upon the fundamental law of our beloved 
Commonwealth. 

Her soil was also the first rallying-point of patriots to repel 
British aggression, and here Washington first unsheathed his 
sword in defence of our liberties. 

In fact it is a matter of some surprise that, as Lexington 
and Concord have contended with some spirit as to which 
was entitled to the larger share of honor for the glorious 



2 HISTORIC HOUSES AND SPOTS IN CAMBRIDGE. 

d^ieds of April 19, 1775, Cambridge should not also have 
put in her claim. She could have done so with a good 
show of reason, for the first detachment of British troops 
for Concord, as well as their reenforcements, passed through 
Cambridge. Those of the early morning were pursued the 
whole distance to Concord by a company of Cambridge 
men, about seventy in number, who "fully participated in 
the perils and the glory of that day." A company of fifty 
minute-men, twenty-five of whom were Cambridge men, had 
previously been formed and were also actively engaged on 
that day. '' The conflict has generally been called the 
' Concord Fight ' or the ' Lexington Battle ' ; but the carnage 
was greater in this town than in any other, — greater, indeed, 
than in all others combined, if it be true, as has been stated 
by a diligent investigator, that ' at least twenty-two of the 
Americans, and probably more than twice that number of 
the British, fell in West Cambridge.' Four native citizens 
were killed near the Jacob Watson House (now standing) in 
North Cambridge. Thus we have twenty-six, or more than 
half of all the Americans whose lives were sacrificed on that 
memorable day." 

Cambridge bore her part well not only on April 19, but 
during the siege of Boston. With a fort at Lechmere's Point, 
another — Fort Washington — on Waverly Street (restored 
and enclosed by the city with a costly iron fence), and 
another at Captain Patrick's island, the town may be said 
to have been a fortified camp. 

Her eminent citizens, native and adopted, are indeed a 
crowning distinction. They need not be mentioned. Every- 
body knows them. 

Lastly, Cambridge is the mother of towns, and is proud of 
her children. At one time her territory comprised Brighton, 
Newton, Arlington, Lexington, and Billerica. 



Cambridge. 




THE AUSTIN HOUSE. 



This interesting old house is now numbered 21 Linnsan 
Street and was built, in 1657, by Deacon Jonathan Cooper 
and continued to belong to his descendants for three gen- 
erations. In the will of Walter, of the third generation, we 
find these quaint specifications : '' I will that my beloved 
wife, Martha, should have out of my movable property, 40 
pounds, lawful money, also my silver cup and my Mare and 
chair and the best cow and one of the pigs. ... I also will 
that she should have the west half of my dwelling house 
and the liberty of the ovens in t'other room." 

It became successively the property of Jonathan Hill, 
Deacon Frost, and, in 1807, of the late Mrs. Austin, whose 
husband. Rev. Mr. Seiders, took her name. She died, in 
1885, childless. 



Cambridge. 




THE LEE HOUSE. 

This, with one possible exception (the Austin House), is 
the oldest house now standing in Cambridge. 

At the beginning of the war with England it was owned 
and occupied by Judge Joseph Lee, a rather lukewarm 
royalist, who lived in Boston during the siege but was 
allowed to return to his home after the war, where he died 
in 1802. Of all the historic houses of Cambridge, this, to 
my mind, if judged by its venerable outward appearance, 
has the strongest claim to the title of " antique." 

It is on Brattle Street, near Appleton Street, and was 
probably built before 1660. 



Cambridge. 








1 



THE BRATTLE HOUSE. 

This is on Brattle Street (formerly called Tory Row), near 
Brattle Square. It. seems first to have been occupied by a 
William Brattle, who " was successively physician, preacher, 
and lawyer." During the siege of Boston it was the head- 
quarters of General Mifflin, who on one occasion entertained 
here the accomplished Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, 
presenting to her his eccentric friend General Charles Lee, 
together with his (Lee's) dog " Spada." 

After the war the property was restored to William Brattle's 
son, Thomas Brattle, who expended much time and money 
in cultivating choice flowers and fruits on the grounds that 
extended from Brattle Square to Ash Street and to the river. 
For a time Margaret Fuller lived here. 



Cambridge. 



THE GOVERNOR BELCHER HOUSE. 

This house is on Brattle Street, corner of Hawthorn. It 
was built about 1700, and came into the possession of Jona- 
than Belcher in 17 17. He afterwards became Sir Jonathan, 
and was governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire 
from 1730 till 1741. 

In 1736 it became the property of Colonel John Vassall, 
who sold it to his brother, Major Henry, whose widow, 
Penelope, sister of Isaac Royall, lived in it at the beginning 
of hostilities. Here Dr. Benjamin Church, the first dis- 
covered American traitor who was condemned to exile, was 
for a time a prisoner. The vessel on which he sailed for 
the West Indies w^as not heard from afterward. 

This house was probably used as a hospital early in the 
war of the Revolution. The owner of the house, Mrs. 
James, states that on one of the old doors may still be seen 
the name B. Church, Jr., heavily cut in the wood. 



Cambridge. 




THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE. 

This Colonial mansion was commonly known as the 
Craigie House, but is now usually pointed out as the Long- 
fellow House. It is numbered 105 Brattle Street, and was 
built, about 1759, by Colonel John Vassall the younger. 
He, being a tory, fled at the beginning of the Revolution. 
Soon after his flight the house was occupied by Colonel 
John Glover with his regiment. Washington took posses- 
sion July 15, 1775, and left it in April, 1776. 

Then in succession came Nathaniel Tracy, Thomas 
Russell, Andrew Craigie (who entertained here the Duke 
of Kent, father of Queen Victoria), Jared Sparks, Edward 
Everett, and Joseph E. Worcester of dictionary fame. 

Longfellow first roomed here in 1837 and afterward in 
1843. After Mrs. Craigie's death he came into full posses- 
sion of the house. Here nearly all his works were written. 



3 THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE. 

Longfellow's feeling for the old Colonial house was one of 
the deepest interest and veneration. Miss Longfellow says, 
" He was never willing to make the slightest change in even 
the smallest particular, even for comfort or convenience." 
It stands to-day as it was originally built by Colonel Vassall, 
with the enlargements by Dr. Craigie. The poet sings : 



Once, ah! once, within these walls. 
One whom memory oft recalls, 
The Father of his Country dwelt. 
And yonder meadows broad and damp 
The fires of the besieging camp 
Encircled with a burning belt. 
Up and down these echoing stairs. 
Heavy with the weight of cares. 
Sounded his majestic tread; 
Yes, within this very room 
Sat he in those hours of gloom, 
Weary both in heart and head. 

Longfellow. 



The room occupied by Washington was a large second- 
story front room, facing southeast. The room underneath 
it was used by Washington for his study and later by 
Longfellow for the same purpose. 

Once, during the siege of Boston, Washington entertained 
Franklin here, concerning whom, on this occasion. General 
Greene said : 

" Attention watched his lips, 
And conviction closed his periods." 



Cambridge. 




THE VASSALL MONUMENT. 



It is in Christ Church burying-ground, Massachusetts 
Avenue, near Harvard Square. Its horizontal (red sand- 
stone) slab has cut upon its upper surface a vase and an 
image of the sun, — a hint of the origin of the name Vassall 
(vassol). 

If rumor can be credited, two slaves were buried here, 
one at the head, the other at the foot, of the tomb of Madame 
Vassall. 

In the village churchyard she lies, 
Dust is in her beautiful eyes ; 

No more she breathes, nor feels, nor stirs ; 
At her feet and at her head 
Lies a slave to attend the dead, 

But their dust is as white as hers. 

Longfellow. 



10 Cambridge. 



THE LECHMERE OR SEWALL-RIEDESEL HOUSE. 

This house formerly stood on Brattle Street, corner of 
Sparks, but is now the third from the corner, and has been 
remodeled in recent years. 

It was first occupied by Richard Lechmere, former owner 
of Lechmere's Point, East Cambridge, and afterwards by 
Jonathan Sewall, both royalists. The spot where it formerly 
stood should be visited for the sake of the beautiful linden 
trees so warmly spoken of by Baroness Riedesel. The house 
was assigned for her use and the baron's after the surrender 
at Saratoga, in September, 1777, and is often called the 
Riedesel House. The lindens must have been good-sized 
trees even then to have elicited encomiums from the baron- 
ess at a time when she had so little cause for enthusiasm, 
her husband being a prisoner. 



Cambridge. 



II 




THE RUGGLES HOUSE. 



It is now 175 Brattle Street, and is said to take its name 
from its builder, one Mr. Ruggles, the last of the king's 
foresters in America. It descended to his brother, Captain 
George Ruggles, but passed into the hands of Thomas 
Fayerweather before the Revolutionary War. 

It then became the property of Mr. William Wells, in the 
possession of whose grandchildren, the Newells, it now is. 
Mr. Wells had here a private school for boys, three of whom 
at least have since earned more than a national reputation. 
Reference is made to James Russell Lowell, William Wet- 
more Story, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson. 

The Ruggles House has a dignity and charm peculiar to 
itself and is '' beautiful for situation." 



12 



Cambridge. 




CHRIST CHURCH. 

We love the venerable house 

Our fathers built to God : 
In heaven are kept their grateful vows ; 

Their dust endears the sod." 



Christ Church (on Garden Street, opposite the common) 
was built 1759-1761, and was opened for pubHc worship 
October 15, 1761, the Rev. East Apthorp being the first 
minister. 

On New Year's Eve, 1775, General Washington held 
service here, Colonel William Palfrey reading the service. 
Connecticut troops were quartered here about the time of 
the battle of Bunker Hill. The body of an English officer, 
Lieutenant Richard Brown, killed on Prospect Hill, Somer- 
ville, was placed beneath this church, where is also the tomb 
of the Vassall family. 



CHRIST CHURCH. 13 

The lead organ-pipes were melted into bullets by the 
soldiers, the church being tory property. Two pieces of a 
communion service — a silver flagon and a covered cup — 
given to King's Chapel, Boston, are now the property of 
this church. 

Our ancient church ! its lowly tower, 

Beneath the loftier spire, 
Is shadowed when the sunset hour 

Clothes the tall shaft in fire ; 
It sinks beyond the distant eye 

Long ere the glittering vane, 
High wheeling in the western sky. 

Has faded o'er the plain. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes. 



14 



Cambridge. 




THE LOWELL HOUSE. 



This interesting old mansion, which is now commonly 
known as Elmwood, is on Elmwood Avenue, near Mt. 
Auburn. 

It was probably built about the year 1760, and seems to 
have been owned by John Stratton, of whose heirs it w^s 
purchased by Lieutenant-Governor Oliver. It was at one 
time the home of Governor Elbridge Gerry, one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence, and vice- 
president of the United States from 18 13 to 18 14. After 
the battle of Bunker Hill it was used as a hospital. 

It finally became the property of the Rev. Charles Lowell, 
father of James Russell Lowell, who was born here February 
22, 1819. Lowell's study was on the left of the entrance 
hall, — a large room with its window overlooking ''the long 
green levels among the trees on the lawn." The room back 
of this, with shelves lining the walls, was used as the poet's 
library. 



Cambridge. 



15 




"THE BISHOP'S PALACE." 



It is 10 Linden Street, and was built, about 1761, by the 
Rev. East Apthorp, the first minister of Christ Church, and 
received its title in derision from his persecuting enemies. 

It is one of the finest of the old houses of Cambridge. 
After Mr. Apthorp it became the property of a Mr. John 
Borland of Boston, who is said to have built the third story 
the better to accommodate his domestic slaves. It served 
both as headquarters and barracks for General Putnam and 
his Connecticut troops till about the time of the battle of 
Bunker Hill. 

After the surrender at Saratoga it became the residence 
of Burgoyne. 

It is now (1897) the home of Professor William H. Niles 
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The house, 
set in a large garden, is grand in proportions and architect- 
ure, and, as has been justly said, " is fitted in every respect 
to bear the name which still clings to it." 



i6 Cambridge. 



THE HOLMES HOUSE. 

This was a gambrel-roofed house supposed to have been 
built about 1700. It stood on Cambridge Street, second 
house from the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, and was 
torn down about a dozen years ago. It was conveyed to one 
Jabez Fox in 1707 and by his heirs to Jonathan Hastings 
and finally to Rev. Abiel Holmes, father of Oliver Wendell 
Holmes, who was born here August 29, 1809. It was the 
headquarters of General Ward and, after the battle of Lex- 
ington, of the Committee of Safety and for a short time of 
Washington. Here Benedict Arnold received his commis 
sion as colonel, and on the green in front were assembled 
the troops to listen to prayer, by President Langdon of the 
College, invoking divine aid in their behalf, preparatory to 
the battle of Bunker Hill. 

The poem " Old Ironsides " was written here. 



Cambridge. 




THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE. 



This quaint old dwelling on Massachusetts Avenue, Har- 
vard Square, is also known as Wadsworth House, and now 
contains the office of the bursar of the College. It was 
the home of the presidents of the University for a hundred 
and twenty-three years, 1726-1849, — President Wadsworth 
being the first occupant ; the others were Holyoke, Locke, 
Langdon, Willard, Webber, Kirkland, Quincy, and Everett. 
It was intended as headquarters for Washington. He was 
escorted from Watertown the 2d of July, 1775, by a com- 
pany of horse and a large body of mounted civilians to the 
President's House. For some reason or other he stayed but 
two weeks and then transferred his effects to the Vassall 
House, which he seems to have preferred. 

In this house the royal governors were entertained on 
occasions of anniversary celebrations, as were many other 
persons of dignity and note. Some of the beautiful elms 
that now cast their shadows upon the old house are said to 
have been planted by President Willard. 



i8 



Cambridge. 




THE WASHINGTON ELM. 

Under this tree 

Washington 
first took command 

OF THE 

American Army 
July 3d, 1775. 





THE WASHINGTON ELM. I9 

A hint as to the great age of this tree is given in the fact 
that Washington had a platform placed within its branches, 
from which he was enabled to overlook the army encamped 
on the common. 

It is visited annually by a large number of persons from 
all parts of this country and from abroad, who gaze upon 
its massive form with mingled feelings of awe and admira- 
tion. It is now tenderly cared for, and though the vicissi- 
tudes of time have impressed upon it the indelible marks of 
decay, it is likely to last for many years to come. 

" A goodly elm of noble girth 
That thrice the human span — 
While on their variegated course 
The constant seasons ran — 
Through gale and hail and fiery bolt 
Has stood erect as man." 



20 



Cambridge. 




THE WATERHOUSE HOUSE. 

This well-preserved and interesting old house, built in 
1753, is numbered 7 Waterhouse Street. It was for many 
years the home of Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, w^ho was born 
at Newport, R. I., in 1754, studied in London, Edinburgh, 
and Leyden, and was " professor of the theory and practice 
of physic in the medical school of Harvard College " for 
thirty years. He introduced the art of vaccination into the 
colonies, for which he was much persecuted. 

The house contains many historic curios, among which 
may be mentioned a ''six-month" clock, the gift of the 
stamp officer, Peter Oliver, whose granddaughter, Elizabeth, 
was the doctor's first wife ; also two portraits, — one of the 
doctor, by Frothingham, and the other of his mother at the 
age of ninety, by Washington AUston, at the time a student 
in Harvard College and an occupant of a room in the house. 

The present occupant of the house is Miss Mary H. Ware, 
daughter of the Rev. William Ware. 



Cambridge. 



21 




MASSACHUSETTS HALL. 



Massachusetts Hall (west side of the college yard, south 
of the Johnston gateway) is the oldest of the college build- 
ings proper now standing, and was erected in 1720, during 
the presidency of John Leverett. 

Holden Chapel is frequently, but erroneously, given the 
honor of being the oldest, but it was erected in 1745, 
Edward Holyoke being president. Massachusetts Hall has 
been the college home of not a few who afterwards became 
famous. Among these there is one at least whose memory 
it is a delight to cherish and revere, — Judge Joseph Story, 
first Dane Professor of law at Harvard, who was at the 
same time Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States. 



22 



Cambridge. 



THE HICKS HOUSE. 

The Hicks House, which is now standing on Dunster 
Street, corner of Winthrop, was built by John Hicks, who 
was killed on the day of the battle of Lexington, and whose 
name is on the monument in the burying-ground adjoining 
Christ Church. 

The spot where he fell is marked with a tablet on Massa- 
chusetts Avenue, near Spruce Street : 




At this place 

April 19, 1775 

four citizens were killed 

by british soldiers 
retreating from lexington. 




Cambridge. .23 



THE MARGARET FULLER HOUSE. 

The house in which Margaret Fuller was born, May 23, 
18 10, is still standing on the corner of Cherry and Eaton 
Streets, Cambridgeport, and is visited annually by many 
persons. America thus far, probably, has not produced a 
woman intellectually her superior. She was noted as a 
teacher, as an editor, and as a writer and literary critic. 
In 1847 she became the wife of the Marquis d'Ossoli of 
Italy. The vessel on which she was returning to her native 
land with her husband and young son was wrecked within 
sight of it, she being among the number lost. Emerson 
and Hawthorne were her warm friends, and she visited the 
latter when he was living in the community at Brook Farm, 
Roxbury. 



24 Cambridge. 



THE HOME OF WASHINGTON ALLSTON. 

The house in which Washington Allston, the celebrated 
painter, Uved, while a resident of Cambridge, is not now 
standing, but was formerly on Magazine Street, corner of 
Auburn, his studio being nearly opposite. He was born in 
South Carolina, November 5, 1779, and showed a love for 
art at an early age. He entered Harvard in 1796, and 
went to Europe in 180 1. In Rome he studied four years, 
acquiring the name of "the American Titian." He is also 
known as America's greatest historical painter, many of his 
most costly works being now possessed by wealthy Boston 
families. He was twice married, his second wife being a 
daughter of Chief Justice Francis Dana of Dana Hill, Cam- 
bridge. He died in Cambridge on July 9, 1843. 



Cambridge. 



25 



TABLETS. 



Since the next best thing to knowing the history of a 
place is the knowledge of its location, historic spots of inter- 
est, which are now marked by tablets, will be designated. 



Here stood 

the first schoolhouse 

OF Cambridge 

BUILT IN 1648. 





The tablet with the above inscription is on the west side 
of Holyoke Street, opposite the home of the Hasty Pudding 
Club. 

In the stone building here erected a school was kept till 
1769, when it was removed to the southerly side of Garden 
Street, a short distance north of Appian Way, and there con- 
tinued until about 1838. 

This was the school (now the Washington) spoken of by 
Johnson, in 1643, in his "Wonder Working Providence," as 
" a faire Grammar Schoole." 



26 



Cambridge. 




Site of the 
First Meeting House in Cambridge. 




These words are on the granite foundation of a building 
on Mt. Auburn Street, corner of Dunster. 

" This meeting-house was a plain and simple structure, 
probably built of logs, and had a thatched roof. The con- 
gregation at first were called together by the beating of a 
drum. Here preached the gifted Hooker for two years, who 
was styled ' the light of the western churches,' and the pious 
Thomas Shepard for thirteen years." 

In 1642 the first Harvard College commencement exer- 
cises were held in this church. 



Cambridge. 27 



THE HOUSE OF JOHN WATSON. 

On the west side of Massachusetts Avenue, near Spruce 
Street, a tablet is placed, marking the spot where three citi- 
zens of Cambridge were killed, April 19, 1775 : viz.^ John 
Hicks, William Marcy, and Moses Richardson, the last 
named being the great-grandfather of Captain James P. 
Richardson. The company commanded by the latter was 
probably the first company of soldiers to start for the de- 
fence of Washington at the beginning of the Great Rebellion 
in 1 86 1. The house west of the tablet was a witness of the 
tragedies, and was the home of John Watson, a farmer. 



28 



Cambridge. 




The tablet inscribed as above is on the easterly side of a 
building numbered 1732 at Harvard Square. 

Stephen Daye was succeeded by his son, Matthew, and 
he, in 1649, ^y Samuel Green; "and for forty years all the 
printing done in America was at Cambridge." '' About one 
hundred works bear the Cambridge imprint prior to the 
year 1700, the chief of which is the Bible translated into 
the Indian language, by John Eliot, a copy of which is now 
in the library at Harvard College." 

It is worthy of note that printing is still one of the lead- 
ing industries of Cambridge. 



Cambridge. 



29 




Thomas Dudley, 

founder of cambridge, 

Governor of Massachusetts, 

lived here in 163o. 




This tablet is on Dunster Street, corner of South. 

Thomas Dudley was governor four years, deputy governor 
for thirteen, and assistant governor for eight years, and was 
major-general of all the forces in 1644. He died in Rox- 
bury, in 1653, at the age of seventy-six years. 



30 



Cambridge. 




General Putnam 

had his headquarters 

in the house 

which stood here. 



^§s$$$$$$$^; 




The house stood on Inman Street, near the City Hall, 
and was that of Ralph Inman, a Tory, who was arrested in 
1776. 

It is interesting to note the fact that his daughter became 
the wife of Captain John Linzee, who was in command of 
the British man-of-war, " Falcon," stationed in the Charles 
River at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill, and that 
their granddaughter became the wife of the historian, Pres- 
cott, grandson of Colonel William Prescott, who commanded 
the Americans at the same battle. 

"The crossed swords," — those of Colonel Prescott and 
Captain Linzee, — worn during the battle, is an object of 
interest to be seen at the rooms of the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society, Boston. 



Cambridge. 



31 




The tablet is on the common, the Massachusetts Avenue 
side, nearly opposite the head of Cambridge Street. 

From Colonel T. W. Higginson we learn that there took 
place under this oak tree a very exciting election contest, 
in 1637, between the friends of the governor, Sir Henry 
Vane, whose statue may now be seen in the Boston Public 
Library, and those of John Winthrop, the latter being victo- 
rious largely in consequence of an earnest speech of Rev. 
John Wilson, first minister of Boston, who stood among the 
branches of the old oak during the delivery of this speech. 



32 Cambridge. 

On the left bank of Charles River, near the City Hospital, 
Mount Auburn Street, is a tablet inclosed by an iron fence 
and bearing the following inscription : 




This tablet was placed here by Professor Eben Norton 
Horsford, whose patient and exhaustive researches led him 
to believe the territory in this vicinity to be identical with 
the Vineland of the Northmen. 

Farther west are two other spots with rude inclosures, one 
the supposed site of another Northman's house and the 
other a paved pathway leading from the river to one of the 
houses. It is said to be the custom of the people of Iceland 
and Greenland to-day to construct such pathways. 

Professor Horsford was born in Moscow, New York, in 
1818, and died January i, 1893. He was Rumford profes- 
sor at Harvard from 1847 to 1863. His name is a house- 
hold word throughout the land in consequence of his useful 
chemical discoveries and for his broad charities and educa- 
tional endowments. There came to the knowledge of the 
author recently an incident in the life of the great professor 
that deserves to be much emphasized and frequently imi- 
tated. On being presented with his tax bill on one occa- 
sion, he promptly informed the assessors that it was too small, 
and that he desired to bear his full share of the burden of 
taxation. 



Cambridgeo 



33 




PUTNAM SCHOOL 
Site of 

Fort Putnam 
« 
erected by the american forces 

Dec. 1775 

<0 during the siege of boston. 



The site is to be found on the corner of Otis and Fourth 
Streets, East Cambridge. The fort was a strong one, and 
was constructed during a bombardment by a British man-of- 
war only a half-mile distant. A cannon-ball fired from this 
fort struck the side of the Brattle Street Church, Boston, at 
some time during the siege, and can now be seen at the 
rooms of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. 



34 Cambridge. 



Our good city is not without articles of historic and Hter- 
ary interest, as may be seen by a visit to the Cambridge 
Public Library, situated on Broadway, between Irving and 
Trowbridge Streets. 

Among the objects worthy of special mention are : 

The manuscript of The Progress of the World, by J. R. 
Lowell; Margaret Fuller's Europea?i Note Book; manu- 
script letters of Longfellow, Lowell, Everett, R. H. Dana, 
and Margaret Fuller — all of Cambridge, — of Washington, 
Jefferson, and Santa Anna; a silk flag sent to the 38th 
Massachusetts Regiment by Cambridge ladies ; a copy of the 
New England Chronicle of December 14-21, 1775, which 
was printed in Stoughton Hall, Harvard College. There 
are also Indian stone implements from Longfellow Park ; a 
Cambridge tax bill of 1790; a cane from the wood of the 
" Spreading Chestnut Tree," gift of Dr. Lucius R. Paige ; 
shoes worn by the wife of General Washington ; and a silk 
badge worn at Washington's inauguration. These and many 
more articles of historic value and interest may be seen by 
teachers and their pupils by making proper previous arrange- 
ments with the librarian. 



ArlingtOHo 35 



To one familiar with the picturesque topography of Arling- 
ton (why could it not have retained its Indian name of 
Menotomy ?) there can be no surprise at the evident con- 
tentment of the people with their situation. The ''Heights" 
are visited at almost all seasons of the year for a view 
almost unsurpassed in its extent and loveliness. Somehow, 
we cannot hear the name without having visions of pure air 
and sparkling spring water. Even the robin becomes so 
enamored of the sheltered nooks and secluded valleys that 
he is fast forgetting his migratory habits, and actually spends 
whole winters here. 

Best of all, the people are living up to the patriotic tradi- 
tions of their earlier history, an evidence of which is to be 
seen in the substantial monuments to the memory of the 
heroes of the first as well as of the last war. 

Arlington has now in good state of preservation a con- 
siderable number of houses of the Colonial period. 

A modest but interestins; one is 



THE AMOS WHITTEMORE HOUSE. 

It is now numbered 209 Massachusetts Avenue, near the 
Soldiers' Monument. 

Mr. Whittemore was, for the time, a famous inventor, a 
machine for making wool-cards being his greatest achieve- 
ment. On this he obtained a patent. Proposals for its 
renewal came in the time of John Randolph, who said, 
" Renew it forever, for it is the only machine with a soul." 
Till recent repairs were made, the old house bore the marks 
of British bullets. 



36 Arlingtoiic 



THE MOLLY CUTTER HOUSE. 

For some unknown reason the British manifested particu- 
lar disfavor toward this house, as they plundered it of a 
year's supply of candles and built a fire in one of its closets. 
It is now numbered 333 Massachusetts Avenue, and is next 
to the Universalist Church. 



At 312 Massachusetts Avenue is an old house that claims 
to have been built prior to 1776. The bakery business 
seems to have been carried on here from the first. 



THE SAMUEL RUSSELL HOUSE. 

This quaint house was built by the grandfather of an old 
lady now living in it at the age of eighty-nine years. 

It is numbered 432 Massachusetts Avenue, corner of 
Walnut Street, It is supposed to be more than two hundred 
years old. 



Arlington, 



37 



THE ABEL LOCKE HOUSE. 





1^ 





This is a fair type of the old houses of Arlington. It is 
on Massachusetts Avenue, corner of Forest Street, and bears 
up bravely under its weight of two hundred years. 

Its next-door neighbor toward Lexington is the 



WILLIAM LOCKE HOUSE. 

Judging from its outward appearance, it must have been 
built at or before the time of the Abel Locke House. 



38 Arlington. 



THE CAPTAIN BENJAMIN LOCKE HOUSE. 

Diagonally opposite the head of Forest Street, the " Old 
Lexington Road," now Appleton Street, leaves Massachu- 
setts Avenue, passing over the hill to the west, but joins 
it again at no great distance. The second house, No. 7 
Appleton Street, bears upon its chimney the date 1775. It 
is the Benjamin Locke House, which was built in 1726. In 
1775 it was used as a Baptist meeting-house, having been 
bought for the purpose for the sum of one hundred dollars. 
It came into the possession of the Lockes later, and is now 
owned by them. 

Farther on over the hill there stood till within a year 
another old Locke house. In fact, there were standing in 
this vicinity, and all at one time, no less than five old houses 
bearing the name of Locke, as I learn from a descendant, 
and all of whose occupants were more or less intimately 
connected with the stirring events of April 19, 1775. 



Arlington. 



39 



Near this spot 
Samuel Whittemore 

THEN 80 years old 
killed three BRITISH SOLDIERS 

April 19, i775- 

He WAS shot, BAYONETED, 

BEATEN AND LEFT FOR DEAD, 

BUT RECOVERED AND LIVED 

TO BE 98 YEARS OF AGE. 



The granite slab bearing the above inscription is on 
Mystic Street, in the rear of the Russell Schoolhouse. 

If all the Revolutionary soldiers were of the same degree 
of toughness or equally tenacious of life, it is little wonder 
the British could not conquer them. 



40 



Arlington. 





The site of the 
Black Horse Tavern 
Committee of Safety 



I 




On the east side of Massachusetts Avenue, nearly 
opposite Linwood Street, stands a tablet with the above 
inscription. 



Sv Here stood Cooper's Tavern y2 

IN WHICH 

Jabez Wyman 

and 
Jason Winship 

P were killed by THE BRITISH 

1^ April 19, 1775. 




A tablet with the above inscription is on Massachusetts 
Avenue, corner of Medford Street. 



Arlington. 




At this spot 
ON April 19, 1775 

THE OLD MEN OF MeNOTOMY 

captured a convoy of 

eighteen soldiers with supplies 

on its way to join 

THE British at Lexington. 



In front of the Unitarian Meeting-house on Massachusetts 
Avenue, near the center of the town, is to be seen a tablet 
with an inscription as above. 



Site of the home of 

Jason Russell 

where he and eleven others 

were captured, 

disarmed and killed 

by the retreating british 

ON April 19, 1775.. 





On Massachusetts Avenue, near Jason Street, stands a 
stone tablet with the inscription as given above. 



42 



Lexington. 



Lexington, like its sister, Concord, is so quiet and peace- 
ful as to give to a stranger visiting the beautiful " Village 
Green " the impression that its gallantry on that memorable 
19th of April, 1775, had given it henceforth a right to ever- 
lasting tranquillity. We have heard and read of hallowed 
ground ! Here we see it and stand upon it, and feel like un- 
covering our heads as before some awe-inspiring presence. 

Objects of historic interest are met on every hand. At 
the south end of the Common is a monument marking the 
site of three successive churches, the first built in 17 14. 
Nearly opposite, on the Bedford road, stands the Buckman 
Tavern, from whose sides English bullets have been taken. 
Opposite, on the Concord road, is the house of Marrett and 
Nathan Monroe, built in 1729, and hence a witness of the 
battle. On the street north of the Green still stands the 
house of Jonathan Harrington with the following tablet : 



I 



House of 

Jonathan Harrington 

WHO, wounded on the Common 

April 19, 1775, 
dragged himself to the door 

AND DIED AT HIS WIFE's FEET. 




Lexington. 43 



Every visitor notes the granite obelisk that marks the 
resting-place of the men of Lexington (and one from 
Woburn) who fell in the battle on the Common. It is on a 
rise of ground on the northwestern side of the battlefield. 

No British thirst of blood had they, 
No battle joy was theirs, who set 
Against the alien bayonet 
Their homespun breasts in that old day. 

They went where duty seemed to call ; 
They scarcely asked the reason why ; 
They only knew they could but die, 
And death was not the worst of all ! 

Whittier. 



44 



Lexington. 




THE OLD BOWLDER. 

The inscription above embodies the words of Captain 
John Parker, as is affirmed to be probable by the Rev, 
Theodore Parker, his grandson. 

" This bowlder, it is estimated, weighs from twelve to 
fifteen tons, and was drawn to the spot from a distance of 
two miles by a team of ten horses. It fitly symbolizes the 
firm, unyielding spirit of the men whose deed it commemo- 
rates," says the Lexington Historical Society in their inter- 
esting Handbook to Lexington. 



Lexington. 



45 



Home of Jonathan Harrington 
the last survivor of the battle 

OF LEXrlsrGTON ; BORN JULY 8, I756; 

DIED March 27, 1854. 



The house marked by the above tablet is on Massachu- 
setts Avenue, east side, about a mile from the Common in 
Lexington. " Young Harrington was the fifer boy of Cap- 
tain Parker's company ; only sixteen at the time of the 
battle." 

On Massachusetts Avenue, corner of Pleasant Street, is a 
monument with the following inscription : 



Near this spot 

AT the early dawn OF APRIL 19, 1 775, 

Benjamin Wellington, a Minute-man, 

WAS surprised by British scouts and disarmed. 

With undaunted courage he borrowed a gun and 

JOINED HIS COUNTRYMEN AT LEXINGTON GrEEN. 
He was the FIRST ARMED MAN TAKEN IN THE REVOLUTION. 

He fought at Saratoga and White Plains. 



46 



Lexington. 



Toward the Common, and not far from the Munroe Tav- 
ern, is a tablet with the following inscription : 




TO COMMAND THE VILLAGE 

AND ITS APPROACHES, 

AND NEAR THIS PLACE 

SEVERAL BUILDINGS WERE BURNED. 




One of the noticeable monuments of Lexington is about 
half a mile south of the Common, on Massachusetts Avenue. 
It represents a mounted field-piece cut in granite, and marks 
the spot where Earl Percy planted one to cover the retreat 
of the British troops. 



Lexington. 



47 




MUNROE TAVERN. 

This is a fair type of the Colonial houses of Lexington. 
The inscription on the tablet borne on its front is : 




^ AND Hospital, April 19, 1775. 
M The Munroe Tavern 



|< BUILT IN 1695 




South of this house and its next-door neighbor is the 
old Sanderson House. It received rough treatment at the 
hands of the retreating British, who added insult to injury 
by leaving one of their wounded to be cared for by the 
family on their return, they having fled at the approach of 
the enemy. 



48 Lexington. 



HANCOCK-CLARK HOUSE. 

This house is on Hancock Street, about a third of a mile 
from the Common. The "L" part was built in 1698 or 
1699, by the Rev. John Hancock, the second minister, and 
grandfather of John Hancock, governor of Massachusetts 
1780-85 and 1787-93, Governor Hancock being the first 
signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Rev. Jonas 
Clark, the fourth minister, afterward owned the house, and 
here his thirteen children were born, all living to become 
men and women. The ministries of the Rev. John Hancock 
and the Rev. Jonas Clark in Lexington covered a period of 
one hundred and five years. 

John Hancock and Samuel Adams were sleeping here on 
the night of the iSth of April, 1775, when awakened by 
Paul Revere. It is a shame that this house was removed, 
but a matter of thankfulness that it is preserved. In the 
autumn of 1896 it was moved across the street, and now 
stands on the northeast side of Hancock Street. 



Lexington. 49 



On Hancock Street, not far from the corner of Adams, is 
the Fiske House, which was at the time of the battle the 
home of Dr. Joseph Fiske, who became a surgeon in the 
Revolutionary army. 

Farther on, toward Bedford, is the Lawrence House, a 
Colonial house, at one time occupied by the ancestors of 
the noted merchants, Amos and Abbott Lawrence. 

All visitors to Lexington should find time to visit the 
Memorial Hall and Gary Library, as it contains objects of 
great historic interest and value. Chief among these, if we 
except the library of 13,000 volumes, is a painting of the 
battle of Lexington, by Sandham, which cost $4000. 



50 



Lexington. 



Beyond the Common, on the Concord road, and about a 
mile out, is a tablet with the following inscription : 



At this well 

April 19, 1775, 

James Hayward of Acton 

MET A British soldier 

WHO, raising his gun, said: 

" You are a dead man." 

'And so are you," replied Hayward. 

Both fired, the soldier 

was instantly killed, 

AND Hayward mortally wounded. 



9S«%^-« 



Lexington. 



51 



On the retreat of the British from Concord, being hard 
pressed by the Americans, they made a stand on a hill " a 
mile and a half west of the Common." Here is a granite 
slab with the following inscription at the foot of the hill : 



This bluff 

was used as a rallying point 

BY THE British 

April 19, 1775. 

After a sharp fight 

THEY RETREATED TO FiSKE HiLL 

FROM WHICH THEY WERE DRIVEN 

IN GREAT CONFUSION. 



52 Concord. 



This town is well worth visiting and knowing from its 
quiet natural beauties alone ; but it becomes doubly inter- 
esting because it has been hallowed by historical events and 
literary associations, — because it was the dearly beloved 
home of the immortals, Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, and 
the Alcotts. 

The visitor seeking for historic sites and incidents natu- 
rally seeks first the 



BATTLE GROUND. 

It is on Monument Street, and not far from the Old 
Manse. The ground on which the British fought has a 
monument with the following inscription : 



Here 

was made the first forcible resistance to 

British aggression. 

On the opposite bank stood the American militia. 

Here stood the invading army. 

And on this spot the first of the enemy fell 

IN the War of the Revolution, 

which gave Independence to these United States. 

In gratitude to God, and in the love of Freedom, 

this monument was erected, 



Concord. 53 



THE BATTLE GROUND. 

By the rude bridge that arched the flood, 
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, 

Here once the embattled farmers stood 
And fired the shot heard round the world. 



On this green bank, by this soft stream, 

We set to-day a votive stone 
That memory may the deed redeem 

When, like our sires, our sons are gone. 

Emerson. 



54 



Concord. 




izI^^S 



THE MINUTE-MAN. 

This monument, full of spirit and earnestness, was de- 
signed by the famous sculptor of Concord, Mr. D. C. French. 
It stands on the side of the river, opposite to the spot on 
which the British fought, and marks the ground held by the 
Americans during the battle or a portion of it. 

On the opposite side from the minute-man a stone in the 
wall marks the "Grave of British Soldiers." 



Concord. 



55 



The British troops 

RETREATING FROM THE 

OLD North Bridge 

WERE here attacked IN FLANK 

BY THE MEN OF CONCORD 

AND NEIGHBORING TOWNS 

AND DRIVEN UNDER A HOT FIRE 

TO Charlestown. 



^$s$$^$$$ss$s^^ 



This tablet stands at Merriam's Corner, past which the 
British were retreating on the road to Lexington. 



56 



Concord. 




THE OLD MANSE. 



This house stands near the battleground, and the name, 
'' Old Manse," the Scotch name for a country parsonage, is 
well applied, as it was built for the Rev. William Emerson, 
grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson, in 1765, and during 
most of its existence has been the home of ministers. 

Mosses from an Old Manse inseparably connects Haw- 
thorne's name with it, as he was at one time a resident of 
this house. It was a witness of the battle, and from one of 
its windows the widow of the Rev. William Emerson was a 
deeply interested observer of the same stirring event. All 
visitors to Concord should visit the Wayside, the real home 
of Hawthorne ; the home of the Alcotts and the School 
of Philosophy, — all on the Lexington road, not far from 
Merriam's Corner; the Concord Antiquarian Society; the 
Public Library ; and the different cemeteries, especially 



THE OLD MANSE. 



57 



Sleepy Hollow, and, time permitting, Walden Pond, the 
scene of the hermit life of a veritable child of Nature, 
Henry D. Thoreau. 

In Sleepy Hollow the grave of Hawthorne is on the hill 
by Ridge Path; the grave of Thoreau is just behind; and 
a little farther on is the grave of R. W. Emerson, on the 
opposite side of Ridge Path. A great pine stands at the 
head of the grave, and a huge unhewn block of pink granite 
is his monument. 



58 



Concord. 




THE HOME OF EMERSON. 

Probably no house in Concord, whether Colonial or more 
recent, is so eagerly sought out by visitors to this historic 
old town as is the simple house of the " Sage of Concord." 
Emerson lived here from 1835 ^^^^ ^^^^ time of his death, 
April 27, 1882. It may be of interest to the reader to be 
reminded that his death occurred only about one month 
after he had attended the funeral of his friend, Longfellow, 
who died March 24, 1882. 

This house stands on the old road to Lexington, about 
equally distant from Merriam's Corner and the center of 
the town. 



Bedford. 59 



This town was incorporated under its present name in 
1729, and is composed of territory formerly belonging to 
Concord, Billerica, and Cambridge. 

As the visitor approaches the village of Bedford from the 
east on the main road, he sees on the right, and near the 
Common, 



THE FIRST PARSONAGE, 

or " Dominie Manse." It was built in 1729 by the Rev. 
Nicholas Bowes, whose wife, Lucy, was a daughter of the 
Rev. John Hancock, of Lexington. 

Passing along the same road, past the Common, toward 
Concord, a second parsonage is reached, directly opposite a 
meeting-house, and known as 



THE STEARNS HOUSE. 

It has been the home of the Rev. Samuel Stearns (for 
forty years a minister here) and his descendants since 1796. 
It has just passed out of the family. It is worthy of men- 
tion that four descendants of the Rev. Samuel Stearns were 
ministers, the Rev. William A. Stearns being at one time 
president of Amherst College. 

The next house north and on the same side of the road is 
also Colonial, built in 1756, and known as 



THE JEREMIAH FITCH HOUSE. 

Mr. Fitch was known as the "merchant." 

Having seen the homes of the minister and the merchant, 
we are interested to find, on the same side of the road and 
next-door neighbor. 



6o Bedford. 

THE HOUSE OF THE SQUIRE, 

one Mr. Stearns, a cousin of the Rev. Samuel Stearns. No 
finer specimen of Colonial house is to be found in New 
England, though probably it was built early in the present 
century. 

Just here the road forks, one branch leading to Concord, 
the other to Billerica. At the " parting of the ways " stands 
the '' Winthrop Oak," beneath whose branches met the men 
of Bedford and towns near by on the morning of April 19, 

'775- 

Some distance out on the Billerica branch is still to be 

seen an old 



GARRISON HOUSE. 

It was from a room in the upper story of this house that 
a brave young woman, unable to make the soldier on guard 
see a lurking Indian, seized a gun and shot him herself. 

From the historian of Bedford, Mr. Abram English Brown, 
the writer was surprised to learn that seventy-seven men of 
the town were in the Concord fight. Fifty-two of them lie 
buried in the old cemetery near the Common. This ceme- 
tery well repays a visit. Among other quaint and curious 
things to be seen here is a bowlder bearing a tablet with 
the following inscription : 



Cambridge Moore, 

CyESAR PrESCOTT, 

C^SAR Jones, 

NEGRO SLAVES, SOLDIERS 

IN THE Revolution, 
1775-1783- 



Bedford. 6i 



Michael Bacon and his descendants have been among the 
most prominent of Bedford famiUes since the settlement of 
the town. 



THE BACON HOUSE 

has been occupied by six generations of that name since its 
erection about 1682. It is on the hill on Mill Street, about 
a mile from its junction with Page Street. It is a large two- 
story house, facing the south, and commands a beautiful and 
extended prospect up and down the valley of the Shawshine. 
On the opposite side of the street and a half-mile south- 
ward is to be seen one of the 



PAGE HOUSES. 

One of the family was a captain of minute-men and led in 
the fight at Concord bridge, April 19, 1775. 

Among the historic relics of the town is the banner carried 
by the company on that day. The house is probably two 
hundred years old, but seems likely to last many more. One 
of the oldest of the Page houses has been recently removed 
and remodeled. It stands on Page Street, on the other side 
of the farm, which was once five hundred acres in extent. 
Page is, and always has been, an honored name in Bedford 
and Billerica. The old farm, much reduced in size, is now 
owned by descendants of the family of the eighth generation. 



62 Bedford. 

Opposite the place where Page Street crosses the Shaw- 
shine River is the 



KENRICK HOUSE, 

or tavern, Benjamin Danforth being the keeper at the time 
of the incorporation of the town, the house being commonly 
known as the 

"SHAWSHINE." 



It occupies the probable site of the Shawshine trading 
post of the time of King Philip. Its location at the head of 
navigation for canoes shows how wisely the spot was chosen 
to aid the Indians in bartering the products of the chase for 
the goods of the white man. 

But of all the historic spots of Bedford and Billerica there 
is none that will have a more lasting interest than 



THE BROTHER ROCKS, 

located on the east bank of the Concord River, about two 
miles from Bedford Springs. 

The following extract from John Winthrop's journal of 
April 24, 1638, will explain the origin of the name : 

" The Governour and Deputy [Dudley] went to Concord to view 
some land for farms, and, going down the river about four miles, they 
made choice of a place for one thousand acres for each of them. . . . 
At the place where the Deputy's land was to begin, there were two 
great stones, which they called The Two Brothers, in remembrance that 
they were brothers by their children's marriage and did so brotherly 
agree." 

This interesting incident has been commemorated by 
"Winthrop-1638 " on one of the rocks and "Dudley" on 
the other. 



Billerica. 



63 



Not to know Billerica is to be ignorant of the most beau- 
tiful, healthful, and enterprising hill town of the Common- 
wealth. This is certainly the opinion of its residents, and 
the one who would contend for the contrary would need to 
be armed with stout arguments. 

Her public library, the gift of an old resident, Mrs. 
Bennett, while stocked with choice books in goodly num- 
ber, also contains a valuable collection of historic bric-a-brac, 
under the guardianship of the Billerica Historical Society. 

This society is engaged at the present time in the praise- 
worthy work of designating by tablets in stone the historic 
houses and spots of the town. At North Billerica, easily 
seen from both the street and steam cars, is a massive 
bowlder with the following inscription : 




Birthplace and home of 





64 



Billerica. 



Near the Billerica line, though in the town of Burlington, 
stands, in a very dilapidated and weatherworn condition. 




THE AMOS WYMAN HOUSE. 

It is the farmhouse, and is reached with about equal ease 
from Billerica and Woburn (formerly in the latter town) 
by the road connecting the towns, known as the " Boston " 
road. It is on a road at right angles with the " Boston " 
road, and about a mile from where the latter crosses the 
Shawshine. 

The name of Wyman is, and has been, a prominent and 
honored one in Charlestown, Woburn, and Billerica for two 
hundred years, or since the arrival of the two brothers, John 
and Francis, who finally settled in Woburn in 1640, Amos 
was probably a son of one of these, and built the house that 
bears his name in 1666. The house stands upon an em- 
bankment buttressed by a stone wall, the top of which is 
reached by rude stone steps. In front of the embankment 



THE AMOS WYMAN HOUSE. 65 

Stand five giant buttonwoods that must have been planted 
soon after the house was built. At the southeast corner of 
the house is the well from which is drawn by the primitive 
'' sweep " the most delicious water. 

The present owner, who has lived in the house for the 
past seventy-one years, is Joshua Reed, born in the vicinity 
April 3, 1801. A bit of money placed in his palm gives 
one the "freedom of the house." A noticeable oddity is 
the peculiar construction of the cellar stairs. To parallel 
stringers of oak placed at the proper slant are fastened, with 
large wooden pins, triangular blocks of solid wood. This 
may have been common in the early days, but no similar 
case is known to us. Bits of fluted finish still cling about 
the front door, an indication that the builder was a person 
of means in his day. 



66 Lancaster. 



Probably each particular town in the State has some pecu- 
liar excellence not possessed by the others, at least in the 
same degree. It is certainly true that the visitor to Lan- 
caster is struck by the rich and varied beauty that Nature 
has bestowed upon the town. It is here that the north and 
the south branches unite to form the Nashua River; here 
are to be found a dozen or more ponds and lakes that nestle 
enchantingly among the hills ; and here are her far-famed 
Intervales, of rich arable land ; so that one readily sees the 
fitness of the common expression "Beautiful Lancaster." 

The various attacks upon the town by the Indians, in 
1675-6, under the instigation of the wily King Philip, are 
matters of history. 

It is not so generally known, however, that in the last 
massacre and conflagration of February 9, 1776, only two 
buildings escaped, — the one a church, the other a house 
known as 



THE JONATHAN LOCKE HOUSE. 

It is now the residence of a gentleman by the name of 
Mr. N. C. Hawkins, who has owned and lived in it since 
1859. 

The owner takes commendable pride in the old house, and 
keeps it in excellent repair. '' In old times there was a rope 
hanging from the rooftree and reaching to a well in the 
cellar, enabling the family to get water if besieged by an 
enemy." 



Medford. 



67 




THE ISAAC ROYALL HOUSE. 

It was built by Colonel Isaac Royall, previously a West 
Indian merchant, in 1737, and was at the time considered 
one of the finest mansions in North America. He brought 
with him twenty-seven domestic slaves, for whose accommo- 
dation was erected a building of brick, now standing a little 
to the south of the mansion itself. During the siege of 
Boston it was the headquarters of General John Stark, of 
New Hampshire. It was also occupied for brief periods by 
General Sullivan and General Charles Lee, the latter giving 
it the name of '' Hobgoblin Hall." 

The builder lived to enjoy his beautiful home but two 
years. After the Revolution it was restored to his son, 
Isaac, who founded the first professorship of law at Har- 
vard. The house is located on Main Street, corner of 
Royall, nearly a half-mile from the center of the city. 



68 



Medford. 




THE CRADOCK HOUSE. 

It was so called from Matthew Cradock, first governor of 
the Massachusetts Company in New England, and was built 
in 1634. It is probably the first brick house built in the 
colony, and claims to be the oldest now standing in North 
America. Visitors should notice the circular portholes in 
the second story, as they will then more clearly understand 
the name of "The Old Fort," given it by the early inhabit- 
ants of " Mistick." 

It is now the property of ex-Mayor Lawrence, who has 
shown much public spirit in restoring it to its primitive con- 
dition as regards its exterior. It is situated on River Street, 
on the north side of the Mystic, and nearly midway between 
the cities of Medford and Maiden. 



Medford. 69 

On Grove Street, West Medford, on the celebrated Peter 
Chardon Brooks estate, is to be seen a brick wall, capped 
with slabs of freestone, which is about seventy feet in length, 
and is said to have been built by slaves more than two hun- 
dred years ago. 

Not far from this wall is a noted black walnut tree twenty 
feet in circumference, and supposed to be four hundred 
years old. 

Also within the grounds of Mr. Francis Brooks is to be 
seen a granite pillar with the following inscription : 



To 
Sagamore John 

AND THOSE MySTIC 

Indians whose bones 
LIE here. 

Sagamore John of Medford, Sagamore James of Lynn, 
and Sagamore George of Salem were sons of Sachem 
Nanephasemet. 

At Medford Center stands a fine brick building bearing 
the name of Joseph Seacom, and erected in 1756. 



THE JONATHAN BROOKS HOUSE, 

No. 2 Woburn Street, facing Rock Hill, is about two hun- 
dred years old, and may be easily distinguished by three 
fine sycamores in front. 

A part of the house next to the above. No. 309 High 
Street, is equally old, and boasts the possession of a clock 
made in 1743. It keeps the time even now with surprising 
accuracy. 



70 Winchester. 

Winchester was formed chiefly of the territory formerly 
known as South Woburn, but includes some portions of 
West Cambridge (Arlington) and Medford. 

The name was given in honor of William P. Winchester, 
a public-spirited citizen of Boston. The town was incorpo- 
rated May 7, 1850. 

Perhaps the most famous old house ever within its limits 
was 

THE BLACK HORSE TAVERN. 

It was built, in 1742, on Black Horse Hill, Maine Street, 
facing the Black Horse Terrace of to-day, and was standing 
as late as a dozen years ago, the march of improvement 
requiring its demolition. It was a rallying point for the 
minute-men, and they met here on the morning of the battle 
of Lexington. 

It is worthy of remark that it was made a resting-place 
by Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) and his friend, 
Loammi Baldwin, during their long walk from North Woburn 
to Harvard to listen to the lectures of Professor Winthrop. 



BROOKS HOUSE. 

At Symmes' Corner was standing till recently the birth- 
place of John Brooks. It was built more than a hundred 
and seventy years ago. He was governor from 18 16 to 
1823. He did important military service in the Revolu- 
tion, his most brilliant achievement being the storming and 
carrying of the German intrenchments at Saratoga. 

Winchester has many interesting historic spots that will 
undoubtedly be marked by permanent tablets in the near 
future. One would like to see the site of Squaw Sachem's 
wigwam, corner of Church and Cambridge Streets, thus in- 
dicated. That of her husband, the powerful Nanephasemet 
(New Moon), was on Rock Hill, High Street, corner of Hast- 
ing's Lane, West Medford, and commanded a fine view of 
the Mystic. To describe adequately the natural beauties of 
Winchester would require many pages and a gifted pen. 



Maiden. 71 



Maiden is among the most wealthy and enterprising of 
our group of new cities, having increased in population 
more than tenfold since 187 1. 

It has at least one pre-Revolutionary house worthy of 
mention, which is commonly known as the 



MISSIONARY HOUSE, 

and is numbered 145 Main Street, corner of Wilson Avenue. 
It was built, about 1733, as a parsonage for the Rev. Joseph 
Emerson, but is especially distinguished as the birthplace 
of the Rev. Adoniram Judson, who was born August 9, 
1788, and who was the first missionary from this country 
to Burmah. 

He went to Burmah in 1813, translated the Bible into 
Burmese, and wrote a Burmese-English dictionary. He 
died at sea in 1850. 

" How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him 
that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace." 

The old house stands within ample grounds, and is quite 
embowered in trees, the most noticeable one being a mag- 
nificent specimen of buttonwood, or American sycamore. 



72 



W^oburn. 




BENJAMIN THOMPSON HOUSE. 

(Count Rumford.) 

This house, built in 17 14 by Ebenezer Thompson, grand- 
father of the count, and now carefully preserved by a society 
formed for the purpose, is the birthplace of the famous 
Count Rumford, who was born here March 26, 1753. It is 
No. 90 Elm Street, North Woburn, adjacent to land occu- 
pied by the ancestors of ex-President Cleveland. 

During a part of the war of the Revolution he fought 
against the Colonists. At the close of the war he entered 
the service of the King of Bavaria, from whom, on account 
of great service to the State, he received the title of Count 
of Rumford, the name Rumford formerly being the name of 
Concord, New Hampshire, where he at one time taught 
school. He deserves credit as an original scientific investi- 
gator and discoverer, and also as being one of the founders 



BENJAMIN THOMPSON HOUSE. 73 

of the far-famed Royal Institution of Great Britain, having 
drawn up its original plan in 1799. 

He gave five thousand dollars to the American Academy 
of Arts and Sciences, an equal sum to the Royal Society, 
London, and founded the Rumford professorship at Har- 
vard. He died in 18 14. 



THE BALDWIN HOUSE. 

Another Woburn house much sought for by visitors to 
this interesting town is that of Colonel Baldwin (now No. 
12 Elm Street, North Woburn), a friend of Count Rumford, 
though he fought with the patriots at Lexington and during 
the siege of Boston. The house was built, in 1 661, by Henry 
Baldwin, the great-grandfather of the colonel. 

Colonel Baldwin was the engineer under whose supervi- 
sion the Middlesex Canal was constructed, a portion of which 
is still to be seen on the Brooks estate, near Mystic Pond, 
West Medford. The Baldwin apple was named for the 
colonel. 

Woburn was incorporated in 1642, and was previously 
known as " Charlestown Village." 



74 Stoneham. 



Stoneham was a part of Charlestown, known as " Charles- 
town End," till 1725, when it was incorporated under its 
present name. Its first settler was Richard Holden, who 
removed to that part of Charlestown in 1640. A goodly 
number of his descendants are still living here and in the 
mother town. 

Among the most interesting of its old houses is 



THE JONATHAN GREEN HOUSE, 

standing erect upon its ''foot-square" oak sills during the 
summers and winters of nearly two hundred years. The 
old house, bereft of its ancient massive chimney, is still in 
the possession of the descendants of Richard Green. They 
have a tradition that slaves at one time performed the labor 
on the estate, which consisted of nearly five hundred acres 
and extended to Spot Pond. 

It is numbered 37 Perkins Street, and is just across the 
line from the beautiful and picturesque Melrose Highlands. 



Somerville. 



75 




a sharp fight occurred here 

between the patriots and the british 

April 19, 1775. 



This marks British soldiers' graves 




The house in front of which this tablet stands was built 
by Timothy Tufts, and was a witness of the '' sharp fight." 

It is now (1897) the home of Mr. Timothy Tufts, grand- 
son of the builder, and a genial old gentleman of seventy- 
eight years of age. It is on Elm Street, corner of Willow. 



76 



Somerville. 




THE SAMUEL TUFTS HOUSE. 



No one acquainted with the part that General Nathaniel 
Greene took in establishing the liberties of our country 
ever speaks or thinks of him without feelings of admiration 
second only to those felt for Washington himself. 

This house, on Somerville Avenue, near Loring Street, 
was General Greene's headquarters during the siege of 
Boston. Past this house marched the British on their way 
to Lexington ; the owner at the time, says The So7nerville 
Journal, was in his kitchen running bullets. 

The house is well preserved, but is not outwardly im- 
proved by the addition of modern chimney-tops. 



Somerville. 77 



On Sycamore Street, near the railroad crossing, stands, 
though recently removed a few rods from its old site for 
street improvement, the John Tufts House. During the 
siege of Boston it was the headquarters of General Charles 
Lee. 

Southwest of this lies the most beautiful and famous Pros- 
pect Hill of Somerville, once called Mt. Pisgah. It is the 
site of the great earthwork built, by order of General Putnam, 
after the retreat from Bunker Hill. 

Here, animated by a commendable public and patriotic 
spirit, the city has mounted several massive cannon on sub- 
stantial iron carriages. 



Somerville. 




THE OLD POWDER HOUSE. 



Near Tufts College, Somerville, is one of the most inter- 
esting relics of Colonial times to be met with in the Old 
Bay State. 

It was built about the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury by one John Mallet as a mill for grinding corn. 

It became the property of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
in 1747, and was used as a powder magazine till a more 
commodious one was built on Captain Patrick's Island, 



THE OLD POWDER HOUSE. 79 

Charles River, now a ruin, at the foot of Magazine Street, 
Cambridge. 

The British, September i, 1774, came here and seized two 
hundred and fifty half-barrels of powder. The legend (see 
Drake's Lanchjiarks of Middlesex) takes one back to the 
time and home of Evangeline. 



8o 



Somerville. 



Soon after the battle of Bunker Hill a strong five-sided 
earthwork was made by the Americans on Winter Hill, to 
command the Mystic and the approach by land to Medford. 
It was under the command of General Sullivan. 

General John Sullivan was born in Berwick, Maine, in 
1740. He took part in the battles of Trenton and Prince- 
ton, and led the right wing of the army at the battle of 
Brandy wine. He was afterward made attorney-general of 
New Hampshire, and was three times " president " of that 
State. His brother, James, also born in Berwick, was twice 
elected governor of Massachusetts. 

On Main Street, opposite its junction with Broadway, is a 
tablet with the following inscription : 



Paul Revere 
passed over this road on his 

Midnight Ride 
TO Lexington and Concord 

April 18, 1775. ^ 



Site of the Winter Hill Fort, 

a stronghold built by 

THE American forces 

WHILE besieging BoSTON 

1775-6- 



Somerville. 



8i 



John Woolwich, 
Indian trader, 

BUILT NEAR THIS PLACE 
IN 1630. 

The first white settler 
ON Somerville soil. 



This tablet is on Washington Street (the continuation of 
Kirkland Street, Cambridge), corner of Dane, not far from 
the boundary line between the cities of Somerville and 



Cambridge. 



82 Boston. 



It would be interesting to know how many persons in 
New England are able to trace pleasing associations with 
the name cf Boston to the early recollections of their child- 
hood. We suspect the number is legion. Her history and 
traditions are so worthy and noble — so numerous are her 
deeds of patriotism and works of philanthropy — as to be 
sure to inspire in young minds sentiments of love and 
respect. 

To know Boston well, — her educators, scholars, and states- 
men, her benevolent institutions and her institutions of learn- 
ing, — would be in itself a liberal education. It must needs 
be of no small interest, therefore, to know something of her 
infancy and childhood in a brief consideration of some of 
her most famous old buildings and historic spots. 



Boston. 



83 






THE FIRST BLOOD 

OF THE American Revolution. 



A tablet with the above inscription is to be seen on a 
building on State Street, corner of Exchange. " Opposite 
this spot " refers to the place of the Boston Massacre, March 

5. 1770- 

Directly opposite this tablet is the site of the first church 
in Boston, the first minister being the Rev. John Wilson, 
the very man whose harangue from the branches of an old 
oak on Cambridge Common decided an election for gov- 
ernor against Henry Vane and in favor of John Winthrop. 
This first church was built in 1632, and was a rude structure 
of logs with a thatched roof. 

Dorchester Heights, South Boston, now Telegraph Hill, 
has upon it a granite monument telling that on this ridge 
Washington placed the batteries that drove the British from 
Boston. Dorchester Heights was a part of the town of 
Dorchester till 1804. 



84 



Boston. 




THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH. 



Boston. 



THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH. 

The affectionate regard in which this venerable meeting- 
house is held extends much beyond the limits of Boston. 
It was built in 1729 on its present site, Washington Street, 
corner of Milk. It was for a long time the rallying point 
for patriots in times of political excitement, and for the dis- 
cussion of questions of moment to the Colony. It was here 
that the " Indians " donned their fantastic suits preparatory 
to emptying the tea into the harbor. The British, during 
the Revolutionary War, used it for cavalry drill and exercise, 
thus causing Washington to remark that he could not under- 
stand the reverence of the British for their own churches 
when they so readily desecrated this. 

The church was bought of the owners, by the Old South 
Preservation Society, for $430,000, and is now a rich mu- 
seum of historic relics. 



86 



Boston. 




THE OLD STATE HOUSE. 



Where the Old State House now stands stood the Town 
House of 1657. This was succeeded in 17 13 by a State 
House, and this in turn by the present building, erected in 
1748, at the head of State Street. Directly in front of the 
eastern end of the building the Boston Massacre took place, 
March 5, 1770. 

"Here," says John Adams, "Independence was born." 



THE OLD STATE HOUSE. 87 

And it was here that the patriots, Samuel and John Adams, 
James Otis, and Joseph Warren contended against British 
oppression with a zeal and stoutness of heart born of the 
profoundest conviction. 

It is now a museum in charge of the Bostonian Society, 
and contains two thousand or more historic objects of great 
interest and value to the student of Colonial times. 



88 



Boston. 




FANEUIL HALL. 



Boston. 89 



FANEUIL HALL. 

Peter Faneuil, a descendant of the Huguenots, was born 
at New Rochelle, New York, in 1700, and died in Boston 
at the age of forty-three years. 

" He possessed a large estate, and employed it in doing 
good." 

Faneuil Hall the " Cradle of Liberty," was built by him 
and presented to the city of Boston for a market and public 
hall, the hall to be for the perpetual use of the people free 
of charge. 

If it be the object of a monument to perpetuate the 
memory, how excellent is the one Peter Faneuil erected to 
himself in the noble building that bears his name ! 

The original building was finished in 1743, but, being 
burnt, was rebuilt in 1763, the dedicatory oration being de- 
livered by James Otis. In 1806 it was greatly enlarged 
under the direction of the celebrated architect, Bulfinch. 

Its walls have resounded to more genuine eloquence than 
those of any other building in Boston, for here have spoken 
the Adamses, Otis, Warren, Webster, and a host of others. 
To look upon the works of art that adorn its walls is in itself 
an inspiration, for here are to be seen portraits of Wash- 
ington, Knox, Hancock, the Adamses, Governor Andrew, 
General Warren, Faneuil, Lincoln, Everett, Commodore 
Preble, and Webster in the act of replying to Hayne in the 
United Stat' s' Senate. 

It is between North and South Market Streets. 



go 



Boston. 



HOUSE OF PAUL REVERE. 

In North Square there is now standing an old house of 
the " overhang " pattern, having on its front a tablet with 
the following inscription : 




LIVED 

Paul Revere 

1770-1S00. 

Placed by 

Paul Revere Chapter 

Daughters OF THE American Revolution. 




The house in which he was born, January i, 1735, stood 
on Hanover (then North), opposite Clark Street, near the 
corner of Tileston. He was the son of Paul and Deborah 
(Hitchborn) Revere, descendants of a noble Huguenot 
family, and was the third of twelve children. He learned 
of his father the art of working in silver and gold, and 
taught himself to engrave on copper, money for the Provin- 
cial Congress being printed from plates engraved by him. 

He also established a foundry for casting bells and cannon 
in Boston and a copper rolling mill in Canton, Massachu- 
setts, still bearing his name. He was educated at the North 
Grammar School, North Bennett Street, with which school 
John Tileston was connected as pupil, teacher, and master 
for eighty years. His place of worship was chiefly the " New 
Brick Church," commonly known as the " Cockerel Church," 
the site of which is now occupied by the Boston Seaman's 
Friend Society building, numbered 287 Hanover Street, 



HOUSE OF PAUL REVERE. 



91 



nearly opposite Parmenter. After a service of one hundred 
and forty-eight years on the spire of the New Brick Church, 
the ''cockerel," made by Deacon Shem Drowne, is still 
doing duty as a weather-vane from the lofty spire of the 
Shepard Memorial Church, Cambridge. Paul Revere was 
a staunch patriot, one of the Boston "Tea Party," w^hose 
memory is perpetuated in the Revere House, Boston, in the 
town of Revere, formerly North Chelsea, but in no way more 
lastingly than in "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," by 
Longfellow. 



92 Boston. 



KING'S CHAPEL. 

This historic old church stands on Tremont Street, cor- 
ner of School, and was the first Episcopal Church in New 
England. It was here that Oliver Wendell Holmes wor- 
shiped for the most part, and of it he speaks in words of 
affection. It is now a Unitarian Church. 



THE OLD NORTH CHURCH. 

The building was torn down by the British in 1775. It 
fronted North Square, about which there lived in Colonial 
times several aristocratic families. 



Boston. 



93 



CHRIST CHURCH. 

This church, the '* Old North 
Church " of Longfellow's poem, is 
on Salem Street, opposite Hull, 
and was built in 1723. From 
the tower of this church General 
Gage witnessed the battle of 
Bunker Hill. Tablets with the 
following inscriptions are to be 
seen upon its front : 





The signal lanterns of ^ 

Paul Revere 6' 

DISPLAYED IN THE STEEPLE OF THIS CHURCH 

April 18, 1775, 

warned the country of the march 

OF THE British troops to 

L Lexington and Concord. 




94 



Boston. 



THE OLD CORNER BOOKSTORE. 

On Washington Street, corner of School, is the Old Cor- 
ner Bookstore, erected in 17 12, and said to be the oldest 
brick building in Boston. 

On its site there once stood the house of Anne Hutchin- 
son. She was banished from Massachusetts in 1637 because 
of her religious views. She was killed in New York by the 
Indians in 1643. 

This building has been a bookstore since 1828, and is 
worthy of mention, if for no other reason, as the literary 
headquarters of our ow^n most famous authors, Longfellow, 
Holmes, Whittier, Lowell, and Emerson, as well as of those 
visiting Boston from abroad. 

The site of the house of John Hancock, built in 1737 by 
his uncle, Thomas Hancock, and demolished in 1863, is on 
Beacon Street, a little west of the present State House, and 
is marked by a tablet. 

The Somerset Club House, 42 Beacon Street, occupies 
the site of the house once owned by the great artist, John 
Singleton Copley, where his son, of the same name (after- 
wards celebrated as Lord Lyndhurst, of England), was born. 



Dorchester. 



95 




THE PIERCE HOUSE. 

This house, built in 1635, ^as always been occupied by 
persons of the name of Pierce. It is also unique in another 
respect : its sides are lined with seaweed, as a better protec- 
tion against the arrows of the Indians, according to one 
authority. We suspect, however, if the whole truth were 
known, a desire for protection against the shafts of old 
Boreas might have had something to do with it. This house 
stands on Oak Avenue. On Washington Street stands the 
Barnard-Capen House, a portion of which was built in 1632. 
The Blake House was built in 1640, and is near Five 
Corners. 



96 



Dorchester. 




THE EVERETT HOUSE. 



Edward Everett, the eloquent and finished orator, the 
profound scholar, the great statesman, seems to be of our 
own time and generation ; yet he was born in 1794, in Dor- 
chester, in a house built about 1770 by his father, the Rev. 
Oliver Everett, and which stands on the corner of Boston 
and Pond Streets. 

He was professor of Greek at Harvard College 1819-25, 
editor of the North Americaji Reinew 1819-24, member of 
Congress 1825-35, governor of Massachusetts 1836-40, 
minister to England 1841-5, president of Harvard College 
1846-9, and Secretary of State 1852-3. 

His Orations and Speeches are published in four volumes. 
It is remarkable that Edward should have attained to such 
fame and eminence as to completely overshadow his older 
brother, Alexander, who, born in 1792, entered Harvard 



THE EVERETT HOUSE. 97 

College in 1802, in the elevetith year of his age, and, although 
the youngest in his class, he was graduated with the highest 
honors. He was a noted man of letters, and occupied many 
important positions under the government of the United 
States. 



98 



Milton. 



.- .... ^ 


' isaj L„, 


1! '^" ' ^'^^a^:,: 



THE VOSE HOUSE. 

("The Birthplace of American Liberty.") 

The following inscription is now to be seen on a tablet 
on the Vose House. For a full text of the " Suffolk Re- 
solves " see Zz/e and Times of Joseph Warren^ by Richard 
Frothingham. These Resolves were taken to the Conti- 
nental Congress in Philadelphia by Paul Revere. 

This interesting old house is near the bridge at Milton 
Lower Mills, on Adams Street, and is noticeable for the 
stately English elms (six in number) that surround and 
tower above it as if in perpetual guardianship. 



99 




THE VOSE HOUSE. 

In this mansion on the qth of Sept. 1774, at a 
meeting of the delegates of every town and 
district in the county of suffolk, the memora- 
BLE Suffolk Resolves were adopted. They were 

REPORTED BY MaJ.-GeN. JoSEPH WaRREN, WHO FELL 

in their defence, in the battle of bunker hill, 
June 17, 1775. They were approved by the mem- 
bers OF the Continental Congress, at Carpen- 
ters Hall, Philadelphia, on 17, Sept., 1774. The 
resolves to which the immortal Patriot here 
first gave utterance, and the heroic deeds of 

THAT eventful DAY ON WHICH HE FELL, LED THE 

WAY TO American Independence. Posterity will 

ACKNOWLEDGE THAT VIRTUE WHICH PRESERVED THEM 
FREE AND HAPPY. 



i;$$s«^>?^::s$$$^$$$$SS$^:^$S$S«^?^?^^^$$$$$S$ 



But we must not stop with the Vose House, for the beau- 
tiful town of Milton can show several others of interest. 

Following Adams Street to the summit of jMilton Hill, 
there appears to glad eyes a vision of grandeur and beauty 
that must be to residents " a joy forever." The point of 
view is eighty feet above the Neponset, whose broad estuary 
extends to the bay, where one sees the shipping, the islands, 
and the lighthouses of Boston's fine harbor. 

This inspiring view was commanded by the summer 
residence of Governor Thomas Hutchinson, replaced some 
twenty-five years ago by a modern house standing on the 




lOO MILTON. 

exact site of the old mansion, Adams Street, corner of 
Hutchinson. 

The old farmhouse and barn, built in 1743, are, however, 
still standing. The estate consisted originally of several 
hundred acres extending on the north and east to the 
Neponset. This place is the chief scene of The Governor'' s 
Garde?i, by George R. R. Rivers, and is now owned by the 
heirs of the late Lydia C. Russell. 

Thomas Hutchinson was born in Boston in 171 1, and 
was governor from 1771 to 1774. He was the author of a 
History of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay^ inherited large 
wealth from his father, and refused to live in the " ancient 
abode of the royal governors," the Province House, on the 
ground that he had a better one of his own in North Square. 



THE HOUGHTON HOUSE, 

built in 1680, stands in Reservation Park, and is used as a 
clubhouse. 



near Brush Hill Turnpike, is of interest because of the 
prominence of its owner. Dr. Tucker, a surgeon in the 
Revolution. It is said to have been built in 1750. 



Roxbury. 



It has been said that Boston might well challenge almost 
any city in the world as to the beauty of her suburban towns 
and cities. Roxbury could easily claim to be among the 
first of these in picturesqueness. 

The town became a city in 1846, and was annexed to 
Boston in 1867. During the Revolutionary and later wars 
the town furnished her full quota of both officers and men, 
the most prominent of the former being Generals Dearborn, 
Heath, and Joseph Warren. 

Probably more young hearts have been made to throb 
with patriotic emotions by stories of the life and character 
of Joseph Warren than by those of any other native of the 
Commonwealth. 

The house in which he was born is not now standing, but 
its site is marked by a substantial memorial house of Rox- 
bury puddingstone trimmed with granite. Its location is 
130 Warren Street, a short distance above Dudley Street. 



I02 



Roxbury. 



On the left of the front entrance is a tablet bearing the 
following inscription : 



On this spot stood a house, erected in y2 
1720 BY Joseph Warren of Boston, 

REMARKABLE FOR BEING THE BIRTHPLACE 

OF General Joseph Warren, 

his grandson, who was killed on 

Bunker Hill June 17, 1775. 




On the right, another with the following 



John Warren, a distinguished physician 

AND anatomist, WAS ALSO BORN HERE. 

The original mansion being in ruins, 
THIS house was built BY JoHN C. Warren, M.D., 

in 1846, SON OF THE LAST NAMED, AS A 
PERMANENT MEMORIAL OF THIS SPOT. 



Roxbury. 



103 



The beautiful and conspicuous Cochituate stand-pipe, on 
Fort Avenue, near Highland Street, stands on the site of one 
of the strongest forts built by the patriots during the siege 
of Boston. 

This site was, with one exception, the highest point ot 
land in Roxbury. The spot is further marked by a granite 
monument bearing the following inscription : 




On this eminence stood 

Roxbury High Fort, 

a stroncx earthwork, planned by 

Henry Knox and Joseph Waters 

ERECTED BY THE AMERICAN / 
^IE, 1775 — CROWNING THE FAMOUS 
LOXBURY LINES OF INVESTMENT. 



I 




Roxbury High Fort commanded the Neck and also the 
road to Dedham, the depot of military supplies. 



104 Jamaica Plain. 



" Jamaica Plain," says Francis S. Drake, " is one of the 
loveliest spots in New England." 

It, being a part of West Roxbury, was set off from Rox- 
bury in 1852, and with it is now a part of Boston. One of 
the most interesting old houses here is 



THE LORING HOUSE. 

It is a two-story house, with porticos on three sides sup- 
ported by fluted columns, and, with its ample and well-kept 
grounds, presents a most pleasing appearance. It is oppo- 
site the intersection of Centre and South Streets, directly 
opposite the Soldiers' Monument. 

In May, 1775, it was the headquarters of General Greene. 

It is now known as the Greenough Mansion. 

Loring was born in Roxbury, held the king's commission 
as commodore, and did most active and efficient service, 
being at the capture of Quebec with General Wolfe. 



Jamaica Plain. 105 



THE HALLOWELL HOUSE. 

The Hallowell House is on Centre Street, corner of Boyl- 
ston, and bears upon one of its chimneys its name and the 
date, 1738. During the siege of Boston this house was 
taken possession of by the patriots and used as a hospital 
for the soldiers in camp at Roxbury. 

This, coupled with the fact that he held office under the 
crown, leads one to infer that he was a Tory. 

Visitors to this old house, which seems to have been 
changed somewhat in recent years, will be pleased to notice 
the fine buttonwoods that stand in the sidewalk in front of 
the estate. 



io6 



Dedham. 




THE OLD FAIRBANKS HOUSE. 



We believe Dedham may well claim the possession of the 
quaintest old '' lean-to " within the Commonwealth. The 
main house was built in 1636, the year of the founding of 
Harvard College, by John Fairbanks, who came the previ- 
ous year from Somerby, England, bringing with him some 
portions of the framework now in the house. The east 
wing was built to accommodate his son John, who was 
married in 1641. 

The house has always been the residence of some mem- 
ber of the Fairbanks family, its present occupant being a 
maiden lady of the eighth generation. 

In the "best" room is a fine oil painting of Prudence 
Fairbanks at the age of ninety years, she being of the sev- 
enth generation. The inventor of the celebrated Fairbanks 
scales was Thaddeus, who, having been knighted by the 
Austrian emperor, was ever after known as Sir Thaddeus. 

In one of the chambers the visitor is shown utensils 
that suggest with emphasis primitive times in the Colony. 
Among these may be mentioned an ox saddle, reminding 



THE OLD FAIRBANKS HOUSE. 



107 



one of Priscilla, the Puritan maiden, as " through the 
Plymouth woods passed onward the bridal procession " ; 
also a wicker pannier, an ancient chafing dish, a frying pan 
with handle four feet in length, a flintlock musket six feet 
in length, and old Dutch tiles with figures in blue, — a sight 
to make one "green with envy." 

The house is on East Street, corner of Eastern Avenue. 
In the front wall is a tablet with the following inscription : 



Homestead of ^ 

Jonathan Fairbanks, ^ 

who, with his sons, ^ 

John, George, and Jonathan, Jr., ^ 

signed the ^ 

Dedham Covenant ^ 



io8 



Quincy. 




THE ADAMS HOUSES. 

About half a mile from the center of Quincy, in a southerly 
direction, on the old Plymouth road, here called Hancock 
Street, stands the quaint old Adams Houses, the one at the 
right being the birthplace of John Adams, built in 17 16, 
as is inferred from that date on a brick in the old chimney. 
The other is the birthplace of his son, John Quincy Adams. 

The former is now used by the Daughters of the Revolu- 
tion and the latter by the Quincy Historical Society. 

Both these houses have inner walls, the one of burnt, the 
other of unburnt brick, and both are unique (so far as I 
know) in having no boards on the outer walls — merely 
clapboards fastened directly to the studding with, of course, 
wrought-iron nails. 

The people of Quincy (a part of Braintree till 1792) take 
a justifiable pride in the fact that their town is the birth- 
place of John Hancock as well as of the Adamses. 

Their admiration for the Adamses is shown in the com- 
memorative tablets on each side of the pulpit in the Unita- 
rian Church, bearing testimony to their fidelity, patriotism, 
and sterling character in words of highest eulogium. The 
remains of both the Adamses and their wives lie buried 
beneath the massive stone walls of this church. 



Hingham. 109 



Hingham (first called " Bare Cove," as indicated by its 
town seal) was probably settled soon after Plymouth, as the 
first church was erected in 1635. 

The present one, on Main Street, near Derby Academy, 
called the "Old Ship," was built in 1681 of large timber 
hewn from white oak logs, even the smaller ones showing 
plainly the marks of the ''broadaxe." It claims the remark- 
able distinction of being the oldest church in the United 
States now in use as a place of worship. 

New and comfortable pews have taken the place of the 
old ones, but the ancient sounding-board is still here, and a 
part of the wood of the old pulpit remains. The roof of 
the old church being a four-sided pitch roof, the bell tower 
stands exactly over the center, which necessitates the ring- 
ing of the bell from within one of the pews. 

At first the bell ringer stood above, and, that he might 
know when the minister came, an opening through the ceil- 
ing, covered by a pane of glass, commanded a view of the 
pulpit. 



Hingham. 



LINCOLN HOUSE. 

Probably the most famous dwelling house in Hingham is 
the birthplace of General Benjamin Lincoln. It stands at 
the center of the town, on North Street, corner of Lincoln. 
It is known to be a very old house, though the date of its 
erection cannot be ascertained. It has a decidedly well-to- 
do air about it, which, with its pleasant location, makes a 
picture one does not easily tire of looking at. 

General Lincoln was born in 1733 and died in 18 10. He 
held high command under Washington, and was wounded at 
Bemis Heights in 1777. He was put in command of the 
army of the South, and, although unsuccessful at S'avannah 
and obliged to surrender the city of Charleston, S. C., he 
continued to hold the respect of Washington, who appointed 
him to receive the sword of Cornwallis at Yorktown. The 
United States has upon its roll of honor few names that 
shine with a more enduring luster than that of Lincoln. 

On the same street and next door is the Solomon Lincoln 
House, built before 1747. 

On South Street, corner of Central, is the 



THAXTER HOUSE, 

very venerable in appearance, probably built about 1700. 
It is overshadowed by a symmetrical elm that must have 
belonged to the " forest primeval." 



Sudbury. 



Ill 




THE WAYSIDE INN. 



In Sudbury, about a mile from the Wayside Inn Station, 
on the Massachusetts Central Railroad, or three miles from 
Sudbury Village, stands to-day, in a good state of preserva- 
tion, the Wayside Inn immortalized by the pen of Longfellow. 

It is two hundred and ten years old, and has been used 
for the greater part of its existence as a tavern under the 
name of the Red Horse. The proprietor has always been 
some member of the Howe family. It claims the high 
honor of having had both Washington and Lafayette as 
guests. 

The chief incentive, however, to pilgrimages to this 
staunch, oak-framed old tavern is, and doubtless will con- 



112 



THE WAYSIDE INN. 



tinue to be, the fact that the poet Longfellow made it the 
scene of his "Tales of a Wayside Inn," whose characters, 
I am told, are the following : 



Landlord 

Student 

Jew , . 

Sicilian 

Musician 

Poet 

Theologian 



Lyman Howe. 

Henry Ware Wales. 

Isaac Edraeles. 

LuiGi Monti. 

Ole Bull. 

Thomas W. Parsons. 

Prof. Treadwell, or 

Rev. Samuel Longfellow, 



As ancient is the hostelry 
As any in the land may be, 
Built in the old Colonial day, 
When men lived in a grander way 
With ampler hospitality ; 
A kind of old Hobgoblin Hall 
Now somewhat fallen to decay, 
With weather stains upon the wall. 
And stairways worn and crazy doors, 
And creaking and uneven floors, 
And chimneys huge and tiled and tall. 

A region it seems, 

A place of slumber and of dreams, 

Remote among the wooded hills ! 

Night and day the panting teams 
Stop under the great oaks that throw 
Tangles of light and shade below 
On roofs and doors and window-sills." 



Sudbury. 



"3 




Captain Samuel Wadsworth 

OF Milton, his Lieutenant Sharp of 

Brookline, Captain Broclebank 

of Rowley, with about 26 other 

souldiers, fighting for the 

defence of their country, were 

slain by ye indian enemy, 

April iSth, 1676, lye buried 

in this place. 



Captain Wadsworth and his men w^ere drawn into an 
ambush near South Sudbury, at a place called Green Hill, 
where the tablet now stands. It was erected by President 
Wadsworth, of Harvard College, a son of the ill-fated 
captain. 



114 Sudbury. 



THE WALKER GARRISON HOUSE. 

Since about 1660 this house, a two-story " lean-to," has 
stood a silent witness to the deadly enmity then, and for a 
long time after, existing between the white man and the 
Indian in the Colony ; for it was built as a place of safety 
for the people in King Philip's War, its walls being made 
of solid oak plank four inches in thickness. 

This interesting old house is in the westerly part of the 
town, very near the Massachusetts Central Railroad, and 
about one-fourth of a mile from the Wayside Inn Station. 



Watertown. 



115 




THE BROWN HOUSE. 

About a mile from Watertown Center, on Main Street, 
near Hersom, is the old Brown House, certainly the most 
venerable looking and probably the oldest in Watertown. 
There seems to be evidence that it was built in 1633. It 
is now and always has been occupied by families by the 
name of Brown. Its inner walls are of brick. 



COCHRANE HOUSE. 



On the river road, better known as the old Waltham road, 
stands the Cochrane House, built about 1725, to which 
some of the wounded at the Concord fight were taken. 



ii6 



Watertown. 



The Coolidge Tavern of the Revolutionary times, now 
known as the Brigham House, is the first on the left (No. 
40 Galen Street) in crossing the bridge from Watertown 
toward Newton. It had the high honor of furnishing lodg- 
ing on one occasion to the first president of the United 
States, while making a tour of New England in 1789. 




The house that formerly stood here was known as the 
Marshall Towle House, and is now standing at 14 Marshall 
Street. It formerly stood, as the tablet indicates, on Mt. 
Auburn Street, corner of Marshall. 



Watertown. 117 





The old bridge by the mill 
CROSSED Charles River 
^ near this spot 

^ as early as 164] 



This tablet stands on the bridge over the Charles at 
Watertown. 

On the left bank of the Charles River, where Stony Brook 
joins it, stands Norembega Tower, a picturesque and mas- 
sive stone structure erected at great expense by Professor 
Eben Norton Horsford to mark the site of the city of No- 
rembega. The top of the tower (reached by a circular stone 
stairway) commands a fine view of a portion of the Charles 
River valley. 

Nothing could give more striking evidence of strong con- 
viction of the truth of his conclusions respecting the loca- 
tion of the " Lost Norembega " than the expenditure of 
money in the erection of this tower. 

Upon its base are elaborate tablets appropriately inscribed. 

Since the death of her father Miss Cornelia Horsford, 
with praiseworthy zeal, is continuing investigations to estab- 
lish beyond a doubt, if possible, the truth of the positions 
so stoutly defended by him. A remarkable stone recently 
discovered by her in the town of Weston, and bearing Runic 
inscriptions, is a possible link in the chain of evidence lead- 
ing thereto. 



ii8 



Chelsea. 




THE GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM MANSION. 



This is certainly as fine a specimen of a Colonial house 
as one meets with in many a day's travel, and bears with 
dignity the name of mansion. It was undoubtedly the sum- 
mer residence of Governor Richard Bellingham, as he also 
had a very substantial house in Boston, near Pemberton 
Square. He came here from England in 1634, and became 
one of the wealthiest and most extensive landholders of the 
chartered company. In 1641 he became Governor, serving 
ten years in that capacity, and thirteen as Deputy-Governor. 

He was twice married, performing in the second instance 
the marriage ceremony himself. For this he was prose- 
cuted, but escaped by refusing to leave the bench, " thus 
officiating at his own trial." 

His sister was executed as a witch in 1656, being the 
second victim in America of that "absurd fanaticism." A 
writer of the time says " She was hanged for having more 
wit than her neighbors." The Bellingham House is 34 
Parker Street, ''Caryville." In this old house, built about 
1670, the writer finds a feature that he had often read about 



THE GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM MANSION. 119 

and heard of but had never before seen, — a secret passage 
connecting the cellar with a secret chamber in the attic ! 
About 1749 a gentleman by the name of Carey married a 
Bellingham, since which time the house has been more 
commonly known as the Carey Mansion. 



Chelsea. 



i 



'i 




THE PRATT HOUSE. 

In all our searches for famous old country houses, rarely, 
if ever, have we found one more satisfying to the eye than 
is this, built, it is supposed, about 1660. It is a somewhat 
rare combination of the "gambrel roof" and the "lean-to," 
and is pleasing as a whole and also when studied in detail. 
It is numbered 481 Washington Avenue. 

It was in this house that Increase Mather, — born in Dor- 
chester in 1639, President of Harvard College, 1 684-1 701, 
and pastor of the North Church, Boston, for sixty-two years, 
— took refuge from the persecutions of Governor Andros. 
He finally escaped to England, where he obtained a new 
charter for the Colony. It may be supposed that his 
escape to a vessel in the harbor was made easy by the close 
proximity of " Snake River," that has its rise almost at the 
very door of the house. The house has always been occu- 
pied by some member of the Pratt family, the present 



THE PRATT HOUSE. 121 

representative being " aunt Rebeckah." She is a real 
" Daughter of the Revolution," her father being a boy in 
the army and afterward a Revolutionary pensioner. 

In 1727 the family purchased in Boston a slave by the 
name of "Jack Langdon." The room under the " lean-to" 
where he died is pointed out to the visitor. 

In a wall about Washington Park, Prattville, is a stone with 
an inscription marking the Barrack Grounds of Colonel 
Gerrish. The stone was a doorstep to a Pratt house not 
now standing. 



Salem. 



The city of Salem is one of the most interesting old 
cities of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, apart from 
its objects and places of historic interest. Its citizens take 
a justifiable pride in the fame of her great men, both native 
and adopted. 

Among her favorite native citizens may be mentioned 
Nathaniel Bowditch, born in 1773, a profound mathema- 
tician and translator of the Mecanique Celeste of La- 
place ; William H. Prescott, the historian, born in 1796; 
Professor Benjamin Pierce, of Harvard University, one of 
the greatest mathematicians of any age; Nathaniel Haw- 
thorne, born in 1804, July 4, at 27 Union Street; John 
Rogers, born in 1829, corner of Washington and Lynde 
Streets, a famous sculptor, noted for his groups or 
statuettes. 

Among Salem's adopted sons may be mentioned Judge 
Joseph Story (his son, W. W. Story, the sculptor, was born 
here, 26 Winter Street, in 18 19), Benjamin Thompson (Count 
Rumford), and General James Miller, author of " I will Try, 
Sir " at Lundy's Lane. 

All visitors to Salem, if they have an hour at their dis- 
posal, should visit the Peabody Museum and the Essex 
Institute, the pride of her citizens and evidences of their 
public spirit. 

Here are to be seen, '' without money and without price," 
not only a rich collection of historic bric-k-brac and curios 
from foreign lands (Salem being at one time the seat of the 
East India trade), but noteworthy collections of the local 
fauna, most conveniently arranged for study and compari- 
son, together with specimen minerals and Indian stone 
implements without number. 



SalerHo 



123 




WARD HOUSE. 



A good type of the old houses of Salem is the Ward 
House,, built about 1684. It is near the foot of St. Peter 
Street, and is remarkable for its second story " overhang." 

At 7 1 Essex Street is the Narbonne House, noticeable for 
its "lean-to." It was built about 1680, and well represents 
the houses of that time. 

The house numbered 138 Federal Street was built in 
1782, and has the honor of having given entertainment to 
both Washington and Lafayette. 



124 



Salem. 








THE OLD FIRST CHURCH. 



This church is said to have been originally a tavern, 
standing well out in the road to Lynn. It was afterwards 
removed to Washington, corner of Essex Street, and used 
as a church. 

It still has its original framework, but its preservation 
has required a new exterior covering. It is now a much 
visited and honored relic, and stands in the rear grounds 
of the Essex Institute. 

Its extreme smallness is a surprise to the visitor, as is 
also a gallery that could have been reached only by 
means of a ladder. 



Salem. 



125 



P In THE Revolution W 

the first armed resistance 

to the royal authority 

was made at this bridge, 

26 Feb., 1775, 

BY THE PEOPLE OF SaLEM. 

The advance of 300 

Britlsh troops, led BY 

Lieut. -Col. Leslie and sent by 

Gen. Gage to seize 

MUNITIONS of war, WAS 
HERE arrested. 




^SS^S^SS^S^S^SSSSSSSSSSS^' 



The above tablet stands at the Old North Bridge, which 
crosses North River at the foot of North Street. 



126 Salem. 



THE ROGER WILLIAMS HOUSE. 

This quaint old house is said to have been built in 1634, 
thus disputing with the Cradock House, Medford, the honor 
of being the oldest now standing in North America. 

It was from this house that the persecution of the General 
Court at Boston drove Roger Williams in 1636 to become 
the founder of the State of Rhode Island. 

It is sometimes known as the '' Witch House," because 
trials for witchcraft were begun here. It now stands, as 
always, on the corner of Essex and North Streets. 



Beverly. 127 



THE GEORGE CABOT HOUSE. 

This house, 104 Cabot Street, though more than a hun- 
dred years old, has an air that indicates a period more 
modern. 

Beverly was at one time the home of three brothers 
Cabot, — Andrew, John, and George, — the last, an ances- 
tor of Henry Cabot Lodge, being the most famous. He was 
at one time a representative and also a senator in Congress, 
and was offered the Secretaryship of the Navy by John 
Adams. 

At this house in October, 1789, George Cabot entertained 
Washington at breakfast. 



28 



Beverly. 



^-^^^s^tr^c^-v.cmv 



-A>> 




"SUNDAY SCHOOL" HOUSE. 



On Front Street, corner of Davis, stands a modest and 
unpretending old house, in which the people of Beverly 
take no inconsiderable pride, since it lays claim to hav- 
ing furnished accommodations to the first Sunday school 
assembled in America. 

It is a matter of regret that implicit reliance cannot be 
placed on all the various claims of '' first" and " oldest " 
that are put forth, since about six different towns in the 
Commonwealth lay claim to the possession of the ''oldest 
house " now standing in America. 

Robert Raikes, of Gloucester, England, was the founder 
of Sunday schools in 1781, and it is quite probable that 
Beverly has good ground for the claim that she makes in 
this instance. 



Danvers. 



129 




THE REBECCA NOURSE HOUSE. 

Danvers was set off from Salem in 1752 ; a part of this 
division became South Danvers in 1855, and this, in turn, 
became Peabody in 1868. Still, Danvers is a good-sized 
and beautiful town, made up of Tapleyville, Danvers 
Plains, and Danversport. Probably there is no town of its 
size in the Commonwealth that has more houses of Colo- 
nial time now standing than has the town of Danvers. A 
good type of these is the Nourse House, built in 1636 by 
Townsend Bishop, and now standing in a field west of Pine 
Street, near Tapleyville. It takes its name from the good 
woman who lived in it at the time of her martyrdom to 
the witchcraft delusion, then prevalent in both the Old 
World and the New. A monument to her memory has 
recently been erected among the " Pines," not far from the 
house. 



130 Danvers. 



On Sylvan Street, corner of Collins, stands the " Lindens," 
built by Robert Hooper in 1750, which was the head- 
quarters of General Gage in 1774. It is one of the most 
beautiful '' mansions " of Colonial times, and is now the 
home of Mr. Francis Peabody. 

On Maple Street, near Newbury, stands the house in 
which General Israel Putnam was born. 

On the corner of Elm and High Streets stands the Page 
House, in which General Gage had a private office. The 
Houlton House, built in 1650, in which Judge Samuel 
Houlton, a noted statesman, was born in 1738, stands at 
the corner of Houlton and Centre Streets. Well out in a 
held off Water Street is the George Jacobs House, in 
which have lived ten generations of that name. George 
Jacobs himself was hanged as a wizard in 1692. 

No visitor to Danvers would willingly omit seeing the 
house built about 1675 by a son of Governor Endicott, 
and now owned by a descendant of the same name. It 
is near Danversport Station, and, though very old, seems 
well preserved. The famous old pear tree, planted in 1630 
by Governor Endicott, is still to be seen in a field not 
far from the house= It now bears fruit and shows as to 
its upper branches a good degree of vigor, notwithstand- 
ing its trunk has been sadly riven and blasted by the 
storms and winds of more than two and a half centuries. 



Danvers. 131 



On Centre Street, near Newbury, may be seen an interest- 
ing old house, the birthplace of Colonel Israel Hutchinson, 
built in 1726. The Colonel was a brave and famous fighter, 
and much esteemed by Washington. He went to Maine 
with an expedition against the Indians ; was in the action 
at Ticonderoga ; scaled the Heights of Abraham with 
General Wolfe; led a company of "Minute-men" April 19, 
1775, and was prominent in the siege of Boston. 

A monument to the memory of Colonel Hutchinson has 
recently been unveiled at the site of his home^ Danversport. 
On Forest Street stands the Ambrose Hutchinson House, 
built in 1708; on Maple Street, the Jesse Putnam House, 
built about 1750, where Mrs. Jesse Putnam died at the age 
of one hundred and two years. The Haines House, which 
stands on Centre Street, was built about 1650. The Ann 
Putnam House is still standing on the old Middletown road. 
Ann Putnam, at the age of twelve years, was probably the 
chief cause of the witchcraft trouble of the time. 

Sixty years after the battle of Lexington the citizens of 
Danvers erected a granite monument to the memory of her 
seven sons, who fell in the battle, April 19, 1775. ^^ stands 
on Main Street at the head of Washington, Peabody. 



132 



Topsfield. 




THE PARSON CAPEN HOUSE. 



Topsfield was settled in 1639 by people from Ipswich and 
Salem, it being a part of the latter, or Naumkeag, till 1650, 
when it was incorporated under its present name. Previous 
to its becoming a separate town it was known as the ''New 
Meadows." 

Mary Estes and Sarah Wildes of this town were executed 
as witches in 1692, during the strange witchcraft delusion. 

Here are to be seen a considerable number of pre-Revolu- 
tionary houses, the oldest and most interesting one being 
the Parson Capen House, built in 1686 by the Rev. Joseph 



THE PARSON CAPEN HOUSE. 133 

Capen, who removed to Topsfield from Dorchester in 1683. 
It is noticeable for its second story overhang in front and 
third story overhang at the end. It is still occupied and is 
in good preservation, though it was never painted. This 
suggests the query, why should we paint our houses? 
Think of improving the rich, mellow tints of time by paint- 
ing this fine old antique ! 

Every one in town knows the old house, which is reached 
by a five minutes' walk from the railroad station. 



134 



Ipswich. 





M 



THE SALTONSTALL-WHIPPLE HOUSE. 

One is inclined at once to grant any claim to old age that 
might be made for this house, for never have we seen one 
bearing more striking evidences of early origin. It claims 
to have been built in 1633, ^^^ Y^^^ ^f the settlement, thus 
antedating by one year the '' Old Fort " of Medford. It has 
walls of brick and stone, hidden from view (like those of 
the Adams houses) by an outer covering of boards. The 
smallness of the panes of glass and the extreme length of 
the "lean-to " are very noticeable. 

Other Ipswich houses of Colonial times are the Bond 
House (1640), the Dodge House (1640), the Norton House 
(1650), the Caldwell House (1660), the Whittlesey House 
(1640), and probably one or more others. 



Saugus. 



135 




THE HILL-BOARDMAN HOUSE. 



This house fairly caps the chmax ! It is sufficiently pic- 
turesque and antique to please the most fastidious connois- 
seur of things old. It is not only a " lean-to " of an extreme 
type, but is also an " overhang," whose principal roof is 
formed by a sort of double reversal of the " gambrel " 
style. 

For more than two hundred and fifty years it has over- 
looked the same beautiful landscape in North Saugus. 

This house has been made the subject of a fine etching 
with an imasinarv river in front. 



136 



Lynn. 




A WOLF PIT. 

Partly owing to the fact that Lynn was practically an 
inland town, in consequence of the shallowness of the 
waters of her harbor, few important events in Colonial his- 
tory took place here. 

The city, or, more properly, the beautiful Walden Park, 
contains at least two relics of "ye olden tyme " of much 
interest to students of our early history. These are the 
wolf pits, of which history states there were many in the 
Colonies. If there are any others in existence at the pres- 
ent time, the writer has never heard of them. 

By means of rude measurements made by the author, 
these were ascertained to be about eight feet in length, six 
or seven feet in depth, by two feet in width. They are 
walled up in a very substantial manner, as may be judged 
from the fact that they have retained their original form 
admirably during all the years since 1630. 



A WOLF PIT. 137 

It is commendable that the city has them protected by 
means of substantial iron fences. 

It is not difficult to find the Wolf Pits when one has 
reached the foot of Walden Pond. The excellent road on 
the north side of the pond very soon brings one to a "woods " 
road diverging toward the north and marked '' To the 
Wolf Pits." 



138 Swampscott, 



THE BLANEY HOUSE. 

Swampscott, formerly a part of Lynn, has its full share of 
the picturesque and the beautiful. It can also point to 
some things ancient. For example, at 290 Humphrey 
Street, we find the Blaney House. This house was built 
in 1640 by a Captain King. He sold it soon after to 
John Blaney, whose heirs still own it. Its inner walls are 
of stone. 



Charlestown. 



139 



In passing in review the more important historic spots of 
Boston and vicinity there can be no more fitting climax than 
that furnished by the history of the battle of 



Bunker Hill. 

Since then this spot has witnessed two magnificent and 
inspiring pageants, the one being the occasion of the laying 
of the corner-stone of 



BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 

General Lafayette was present, and Daniel Webster de- 
livered a dedicatory oration. 

Among his memorable sayings at this time is : 

" Let it rise till it meet the sun in its coming ; let the 
earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day linger 
and play on its summit." 

"The celebration," says Frothingham, ''was unequaled 
in magnificence by anything of the kind that had been seen 
in New England." 

Conspicuous honor was paid to forty survivors of the 
battle who were present. 

The second great pageant was the celebration in honor 
of the completion of the monument, Daniel Webster again 
being the orator, and the president of the United States, 
John Tyler, honoring the occasion by his presence. 

'' Before the orator and around him," says the historian 
quoted above, '' was an immense concourse of people. A 
hundred thousand, at least, had gathered on the hallowed 
spot." 

The monument stands on the ground inclosed by the 
redoubt defended by Colonel Prescott on June 17, 1775. It 
is an obelisk of Quincy granite 30 feet square at the base 
and 15 feet square near the top, is 220 feet high, and cost 
about $120,000. 



140 



BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 



During the battle of Bunker Hill the British set fire to 
the town, destroying nearly all the houses, most of those 
that escaped being on Mill Street. 

The oldest now standing in the city is a three-story wooden 
building numbered 201 Main Street, and bears on its front 
a tablet with the following inscription : 



$SSS$ 






Here was born 

Samuel Finley Breese Morse, 

27 April, 1791, 

inventor of the 

-y electric telegraph. 



Professor Morse was graduated at Yale in 18 10, studied 
art in England under Benjamin West, and designed an elec- 
tric telegraph in 1832. Congress granted him an appropria- 
tion for a line between Baltimore and Washington, which 
was completed in 1844. 

Within a year there has been dug up on the grounds of 
this old house a solid six-pound cannon shot, — a grim re- 
minder of the battle. 

The first settlement in Charlestown was in 1628. 

The town became a city in 1847, and was annexed to 
Boston in 1873. 



Miscellaneous Old Houses. 141 



MISCELLANEOUS OLD HOUSES. 

The search for old houses and historic spots has greatly 
grown upon us year by year, and proved a much more 
fruitful subject than we had previously supposed possible. 
One notes with pleasure the existence still of interesting 
old houses in nearly every town on the coast from Plym- 
outh to Portland. 

The only house now standing in Plymouth at any time 
occupied by a member of the Mayflower Pilgrims is the 
Rowland House, built in 1666. 



Burlington has the famous Samuel Sewall House, built 
before 1751. It is on Lexington road, about a fourth of 
a mile from the meeting-house, and noted as the place 
of concealment of Hancock and Adams after their flight 
from Lexington, April 19, 1775. 



The Doten House, however, is six years older, and stands 
on Sandwich Street. In Sandwich is still standing and well 
preserved, the Tupper House. It is pleasant to look upon, 
but we have not been able to learn its history. 



In Duxbury we find two especially interesting old houses, — 
the Alden House, built in 1653, and occupied by nine gen- 
erations of Aldens, and the Standish House, built by a son 
of Myles Standish in 1666, partly from timbers saved from 
the burning of the house of his father. 



Winthrop has an interesting old house, built in 1649 by 
Deane Winthrop, son of the good Governor John Winthrop. 
It is on Shirley Street, near Ocean Spray station. 



142 MISCELLANEOUS OLD HOUSES. 

Marblehead contains half a dozen or more old houses, 
the most famous being that of Colonel Jeremiah Lee, on 
Washington Street, near Abbot Hall. It is a massive, 
three-story brick building, and otherwise remarkable for 
having a hallway about eighteen feet square. 



Great changes are often made by the " march of improve- 
ment " ; sometimes equally great changes are made by the 
very reverse of ''improvement." 

One dislikes to see the homes of famous men elbowed 
and shouldered and crowded by their more pretentious 
neighbors. Such is the fate of a house, now numbered 
342 1^ Hanover Street, near the corner of Bennett, built by 
Increase Mather in 1677, and in it his son Cotton was born. 
The Mather tomb is in Copp's Hill-burying ground. 



The Clough-Vernon House, 

is a good specimen of overhang, situated on Vernon Place, 
off Chester Street, and was built before 1698. 



The Blake House 

stands in the rear of Cottage Street, Dorchester, and was 
built in 1650 by Elder James Blake, a man prominent in the 
affairs of the town, as is shown in a continuous service in 
some official capacity for more than twenty-five years. 



The Aspinwall House 

is perhaps the most famous old house of which the town of 
Brookline can boast. It was built in 1660 by Peter Aspin- 
wall, has always been owned by some member of the family, 
and stands on Aspinwall Avenue. William Aspinwall, born 



MISCELLANEOUS OLD HOUSES. 1 43 

in Brookline in 1743 (presumably in the old house above 
mentioned), was a physician of note, fought as a volunteer 
in the battle of Lexington, and became a surgeon in the 
Revolutionary Army. 



The Peak House 

of Medfield has been admired, talked about, written up, 
and illustrated in magazines and histories repeatedly, and 
the impression given that it is the sole survivor of the 
torch of the Indians of King Philip in 1676. The mistake 
arises probably from the extreme quaintness of its shape. 
It was probably built about 1762. 



Medway was a part of Medfield till 17 13, when it was 
incorporated as a separate town, the Charles River forming 
the boundary between the two. 

Here is to be seen in good condition the 



Clark House 

built in 1 7 10, and now occupied by Putnam R. Clark. 

It will be of interest, at least to young folks, to remember 
that "Oliver Optic" (William T. Adams) was born here. 



Marshfield has the Governor Winslow House, built in 
1650, which was for a time the home of Daniel Webster. 



Lincoln has the Whitman House, built in 1700. It is 
two miles from the center of the town, on the road from 
Waltham to Stowe. Also a half mile from the Center, on 
the Lexington road, the "L" part of the Flint House is still 
standing, and is supposed to be two hundred and fifty years 
old. 



144 MISCELLANEOUS OLD HOUSES. 

Andover has, among several old houses, that of the 
famous Anne Bradstreet, a relationship with whom has been 
claimed by Richard H. Dana, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and 
William Ellery Channing. This house is supposed to have 
been built in 1667. 



Let the American youth never forget that they possess 
a noble inheritance, bought by the toils and the sufferings 
and blood of their ancestors. — Joseph Story. 



H 11 78 ' 








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